Bleach: After the War, into the Future
by rckmn
Summary: Abandoned. 2 and a half years after the war with Aizen, what has changed? Will Ichigo regain his Shinigami powers, or will he forever remain powerless? Pairings Ichigo/Rukia, Ishida/Orihime.
1. Chapter 1 Getting back into Action!

It was 1:00 AM in Karakura Town, but several teenagers we know quite well weren't in their beds. Now, these teenagers don't leave their houses for the reasons that most teenagers leave for in the middle of the night. They left their houses to protect the citizens of Karakura from hollows, who were out for a late night/early morning snack.

"Your reiatsu is so enticing! I'm going to devour you all!" Screamed a hollow that resembled a large wholly mammoth.

"Sheesh, you just won't shut up, will you?" asked Ishida Uryu, as he raised his spirit bow and fire several arrows full of reishi at his opponent. The arrows quickly shot through the hollow's upper abdomen.

"Nooooooooooooooo!" screamed the hollow. "How dare you hurt me?" it screamed in a tone that suggested attacking him was the gravest of offences. "I'm going to rip your limbs off one by one!" he roared at the Quincy, who didn't seem to be affected at all by the oversized hollow's threats.

"Just shut up already." Ishida said venomously, as he knocked a large arrow that was overflowing with reishi.

"Now disappear!" he cried as he shot the hollow dead center in the chest. The arrow flew out the back of the hollow and continued flying until it came into contact with a small office building, where it exploded with a blast of brilliant blue reishi.

"Damnnnnn youuuuuu!" wailed the hollow as it disincarnated and disappeared into nothingness.

"Don't you think that was a tad bit overkill?" came the upbeat voice of Inoue Orihime, walking alongside the hulking figure of Sado Yasutora.

"I have to agree with Inoue, Ishida." Sado concurred. "The asphalt along the trajectory of your arrow is completely unearthed." He continued, trying to sound reprimanding, but he couldn't help the grin that reviled he was impressed. "And you completely took out that office building over there."

"Yeah, I suppose I did go a bit overboard, but that hollow was really getting on my nerves." trailed Ishida, trying to redeem himself halfheartedly.

"Even though it wasn't necessary, I thought you look really awesome!" said Inoue, in a extremely enthused voice. "Ishida-kun always has a way of making things look cool, with his super-spirit bow and his cool clothing!" she continued, making Ishida look away blushing.

"I don't look that cool." Ishida managed to get out before being completely engulfed by a cherry blush.

"Yes you do!" insisted Orihime very vehemently. "I've been watching you fight hollows ever since the three of us took over protecting Karakura Town from hollows two and a half years ago, right after the war with Aizen, and your powers and moves are just as cool, if not cooler, then they were back then!" she stated.

After that statement, Ishida was having problems stringing coherent sentences together, and Sado figured he might as well enough alone. He didn't want to be involved in their flirting.

'Has it really been two and a half years since The War?' Sado thought to himself. 'We've been so busy, fighting off the hollows that come here in great quantities still, and keeping up with our regular lives. It's so different than how it used to be…' he thought sadly. 'Ever since Ichigo lost his Shinigami powers, things just haven't been the same' he sadly mused. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted.

"Let's celebrate our victory by going to my house and having a victory meal!" cheered Inoue. "We'll stay up for the rest of the night and skip school in the morning! I've always wanted to skip school!" Inoue excitedly said, and looked at the other two expectantly.

"Umm, are you going to cook for us again, Inoue-san?" asked Ishida timidly.

"Of course I am! Along with fighting, I'm also the designated cook of our team." Inoue said happily. "Now come on, we've got sooooo much to do!" Inoue sang as she dragged the two other members of their team down the street, who both now were paling extremely quickly at the idea of Inoue cooking for them.

But they weren't about to hurt their teammates' feelings.

Unbeknown to them, a tall figure with orange hair on top of one of the shorter buildings overlooking the trio choked out a sob and broke down on the spot.

* * *

Ichigo quickly recomposed himself, and lay staring at the incoming clouds. He had not grown power-wise at all over the last two years and a half years. It was torture for him to watch how his friends had grown so much stronger, and in the process had left him behind in the dust. Many times he'd caught himself thinking of a situation where he'd not sacrificed his Shinigami powers to defeat Aizen, but instead found some other way to defeat him. But no matter how hard he tried, he could not think of a way he could've defeated Aizen without using the Final Getsuga Tenshou, and even then he hadn't defeated him. It had taken Urahara Kisuke to invent a new type of kido to seal him, and even now he wasn't dead.

'How do I get my powers back?' sadly mused Ichigo. 'I can't protect anyone anymore, and haven't been for over two years. I'm utterly useless; I don't even have a morsel of reiastu left in my being.' he thought, depression setting in again.

'I can't even see Rukia anymore' he stated in his mind, feeling an overwhelming feeling of grief and heartbreak inside.

That had been the worst hit of them all, the loss of Rukia. Over the time they'd spent together, they'd become the best of friends, and to the point they'd have been lovers before long, or he thought so.

The clouds he had been watching had turned into thunderclouds, and started to rain on him. Ichigo didn't mind, he was far too deep in thought and misery to really care.

He would have continued in this line of thinking, but then claw-like slash marks began appearing on the asphalt in the street below.

'Hollow!' Ichigo screamed in his mind. He quickly descended the fire escape he'd climbed to overlook his friend's battle earlier, and quickly started running back towards his house, where his Shinigami father could protect him. It sickened him he couldn't take out the hollow on his own or protect himself, much less anyone else.

All of a sudden, the slashes on the road stopped, and started quickly moving towards Ichigo.

"Shit!" cried Ichigo, quickly picking up his pace. The claw-like slashes in the ground were beginning to get closer and closer to him.

It went on like this for ten minutes, with Ichigo running in between various buildings in an attempt to shake the hollow. This method proved futile when the hollow just ran straight through the building, not deterred at all by the mass of concrete it'd just smashed through.

Finally, Ichigo slipped and fell and rolled down a riverbank. He'd been so focused on running away from the hollow, he had completely lost track of where exactly he was going. He slowly opened his eyes and took in his surroundings.

"It's 'that' place, huh." Ichigo thought. This place was quite familiar to him; this place had haunted his dreams and his thoughts for years. The riverbank, the pouring rain; memories of June 17th came back into his mind, along with the guilt of what had happened that day.

" Maybe its just fate." Ichigo mused, almost comically. "Only difference is this time kaa-san isn't here." He sadly thought. "Maybe I was meant to die that day." He concluded.

"Things would have been better off if she had lived while I had died. Yuzu and Karin could've had a mom, tou-san would have been happier. And what have I done?"

Ichigo watched the claw marks come down the riverbank about 50 feet away from where he'd slipped and fell down. Then, the marks started to move towards him. Ichigo watched them get closer, not moving an inch.

"I guess my times up." Ichigo thought sadly. The claw marks were now 15 feet away and closing fast. Ichigo felt the wind from what he assumed was the hollow jumping to attack him from the sky. The force that hit him was huge and smashed him into the ground where he'd been standing just a few seconds ago. Ichigo coughed up some blood; the landing had definitely broken some ribs.

"That hurt more than I had expected. At least this will finally be over." He thought. He braced himself for the deathblow, but it didn't come.

Instead, he felt a warm aura spread around him.

'Am I dead?' Asked Ichigo inside his head. What he was not expecting was a reply.

"As far as I can see, you are not dead Ichigo." Replied the semi-gruff voice.

Ichigo was so shocked at hearing this voice, his eyes shot open and he cried out.

"Zangetsu, is that you?" Ichigo cried, scared that the voice would not respond.

"Yes, it's me Ichigo." Replied Zangetsu inside Ichigo's head.

Ichigo grinned triumphantly as he heard the response, but scoffed as he heard the next one.

"Yo King! It's been raining nonstop in here! Quit being all depressed, or send us some umbrellas!"


	2. Chapter 2:Conversation in the InnerWorld

Chapter Two: Now that I've got my power back, I'll…

Author's Note: I do not own Bleach, and never will. Tite Kubo owns it, and probably will forever.

Another Author's Note: Wow, I got 63 hits in like 3 hours of putting up the first chapter! It looks like I'll have to crank out the chapters a little faster than I had anticipated. Don't worry; it won't take away from the quality of the writing! Again, feel free to write reviews and comment on my story! If you have any ideas or suggestions, please send them to me! I will read them, and if I like them, I'll incorporate them into the story!

Thanks again!

Rckmn

A final note: I'm going to start referring to Ichigo's hollow as Hichigo because it sounds cool and I'm getting tired of writing of writing out Ichigo's hollow every time I mention him, which is quite frequent….

* * *

Chapter Two: Now that I've got my power back, I'll…

After hearing his hollow's voice, Ichigo's vision turned hazy for a moment, then the view of the rainy riverbank turned into a scene he hadn't seen since the last moments of his fight with Tensa Hichigo, the familiar landscape with hope-filled skyscrapers with a blue sky with some nice clouds. Standing before him was Tensa Zangetsu and Hichigo clad in his Bankai Shihakusho.

"Well done Ichigo, you managed to reactivate your Shinigami powers." Zangetsu proudly said, grinning at Ichigo.

"I can't tell you how great it is to be able to see and talk to you again." Ichigo said with a full on grin. "Since our battle with Aizen, I've felt like that I lost a important part of myself. I was never the same after that battle." Ichigo said, still smiling. Zangetsu appeared to be in a state of shock.

"But now," Ichigo said, looking Zangetsu right in the eyes and spreading his arms apart "I've got the part of my soul back that I was missing, and I'm whole again." He concluded, giving Zangetsu a heartwarming look.

Tears of joy ran down Zangetsu's face. He'd been afraid that time would have changed Ichigo since their last talk before his final confrontation with Aizen.

"Uggg, don't make me gag! Seriously, when did the two of you become saps?" Hichigo asked incredulously. Both Ichigo and Zangetsu turned to face him, looking quite annoyed.

"Seems like you haven't changed a bit in the last two years." Ichigo stated, still pissed that Hichigo had interrupted Zangetsu and him.

"Not a bit King, not a bit." Hichigo said with a smirk. Ichigo rolled his eyes and Zangetsu continued to glare at him. Ichigo turned back to Zangetsu.

"So, what do I do now? What are the extents of my powers now?" Ichigo asked curiously. "I mean, I was able to get to a level where I could fight Aizen and beat him, does my power still stand at the level? And what about my Hollowifacation?"

Zangetsu glanced at Hichigo for a moment, and then began to speak.

"You are technically at the same level that you were at when you fought Aizen, but I'm going to gauge how much power you can put out in order to prevent you from effecting other people." Zangetsu said, returning his eyes to Ichigo.

"Effecting people? Like how my reiatsu awakened Inoue's and Chad's powers?" Ichigo asked with a somewhat confused look on his face.

"Yes, but that isn't the full extent of it. It's true that now your reiatsu is so high Shinigami, humans, or hollows alike cannot sense it, but that doesn't mean they can't be affected by it. It's quite the contrary, actually." Chuckled Zangetsu.

"What do you mean by that?" Ichigo inquired.

"It means that just because their sense can no longer comprehend your reiatsu, they can't be affected by it. It's so powerful that it would actually accelerate the changes in the given person. Furthermore, if we left your reiatsu unchecked, it is quite possible we'd kill everyone in the intermediate area who did not posses the level of reiatsu that a 5th Seat Officer of the 13 Protection Squads would have." Zangetsu finished, with a speechless and stunned Ichigo gawking at him.

"So now that you're going to hold back my reiatsu, how much will I have? Will it be enough?" Ichigo asks hesitantly.

* * *

"Atchooo!"

"Ishida-kun, are you alright?"

"Thank you Inoue-san, I think so. But why do I have the feeling that someone who endlessly oozed reiatsu is worried about having enough now?"

"I don't know. I don't feel anything like that. What about you, Sado-kun?"

"I think Ishida had too much red curry paste on his chocolate ice cream."

"Maybe I did…."

* * *

"I will suppress 75% of your reiatsu, bu"

"WHAT? 75% of it?" Exclaimed Ichigo. "Isn't that a little too much?" He pleaded.

Zangetsu cleared his throat. "To go back to what I was about to say before you interrupted me," Zangetsu said with amusement written across his face "Even with me suppressing 75% of your reiatsu, you will still have three times the amount of reiatsu a Captain class Shinigami has." He finished, with Ichigo looking relieved and impressed at the same time.

"Zangetsu, just how big is my full reiatsu?" Ichigo asked. He had no clue as to the extent of his reiatsu.

* * *

"Atchooo!"

"Ishida-kun, are you coming down with a cold?"

"I hope not. I've got a sewing convention to go to in three days; I can't afford to be sick!

"….."

"…"

* * *

"Very big. Very, very big." Said Zangetsu, trying not to laugh at Ichigo's ignorance. Ichigo gave him a pointed stare, but decided to let it rest.

"King."

Ichigo looked over at Hichigo, who was now standing next to Zangetsu, with a serious looking expression. Alarms flew off inside Ichigo's brain; there had never been a time where he'd seen him without his trademark cocky grin.

"What is it Hichigo?" Ichigo asked. His body tensed up, ready to fight if necessary.

"Relax King, we're not gonna fight." Hichigo said, still donning his dead serious face. "Get back into the hang of using your powers fast, because if you don't, we're fucked." Finished Hichigo.

Ichigo looked stunned, looking back and forth between Hichigo and Zangetsu. Zangetsu nodded his head, confirming what Hichigo had said.

"Now is not the time to talk about that though. We still have some time before he'll take action." Zangetsu states, addressing both Ichigo and Hichigo. Hichigo gave a 'hmph' and darted straight towards Ichigo.

"Shit! I can't react fast enough!" Ichigo realizes, and braced for a salvage slash.

Instead of running him through with his blade, Hichigo flew straight into Ichigo, and disappeared into him. Ichigo untensed, and looked at Zangetsu.

He walked up to Ichigo, smiled, and handed him himself in Shikai form. Ichigo took grab of the hilt, and put it in its normal place on his back. Zangetsu burst into black and red reishi, which began swirling around Ichigo, and then flowed into him. His inner world began to fade, but before it was gone, he heard Zangetsu's voice.

"Ichigo."

"Yeah Zangetsu?"

"You are whole now."

* * *

"Damn it! We were too late!" Ishida exclaimed, looking at a giant tiger hollow pinning down an unrecognizable person. "If I was only a little faster…"

"Don't blame yourself Ishida-kun. We're all at fault here." Consoled Inoue, who was feeling the exact same thing.

Ishida was about to say something, but was couldn't say it because he had to dodge a giant tiger hollow that just exploded off of whatever it was on with an amazing amount of force. It continued to fly until it had gone through 3 large business buildings.

Ishida, Inoue, and Chad watched the hollow smash through the buildings and eventually come to a stop with jaws nearly popping out of their sockets.

But what made them almost cause themselves extreme whiplash was the feeling of the enormous reiatsu pouring off whatever the hollow had been on.

What they saw was a Shinigami with extremely shaggy orange hair, a huge Zanpakuto, and a large grin on his face.

"Hey guys, what's up?"


	3. Chapter 3: Old Friends, New Enemies?

Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, and never will. Bleach is owned by Tite Kubo, and probably will forever.

Author's note: I'm sorry I haven't updated in the last two days! I've been very busy, and when I get home I've been VERY tired, so I haven't been able to post…. I'm back now though!

So, I'm getting a lot of good reviews and hits! I'm quite surprised… Anyways, I few of you had questions, and as promised I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Don't Call Me Short: Ichigo's powers were reawakened because he was extremely close to death. When someone is in a life or death situation, their body generally goes into overdrive, and you can do a lot of things you normally can't do. Through the close to death experience, his body reacted in such a way so that it reactivated his powers. I got this idea after seeing how Isshin is first introduced when Kon is about to get killed. Extreme situations call for extreme measures.

Ebbie54: Yes, Captain Hitsugaya will be in there. The Gotei 13 have yet to be introduced (or maybe they will be at the end of this chapter…) Since we're only 3 chapters (as of now), character development has been limited. I'm just waiting for the right time to do it XD

Eelgirl13: If you tell me how or what you're confused about, I can probably help you.

hitsugayatoshirou1220: I'm going to try to update at least 3 times a week. If I can update everyday, I will. I'm just allowing some flexibility in my schedule in case something comes up and I can't write or post.

Again, if you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, I will be glad to answer them.

Now, what was I doing again? Oh yeah, writing a story….

* * *

Chapter 3: Old Friends, New Enemies?

"Ku…Ku.. KUROSAKI?" Ishida shouted, astonishment clearly visible on his face.

The Ichigo they were looking at had changed from the one they'd seen last. Other than getting a bit taller, Ichigo's appearance hadn't changed a bit. However, now his hair was long and shaggy, and he was a little bit shorter. His eyes seemingly emanated the power that within his being.

Ichigo looked around. He saw that his friends were there, and they looked pretty shocked at his sudden retransformation into a Shinigami. He wasn't worried about them right at the moment; he was worried about what Hichigo had said right before he'd left his Inner World. He was much too wrapped up in his thoughts to hear Ishida's yelling.

Suddenly, Ishida quickly reached his hand out and closed his eyes. Inoue and Chad looked at him questionably, and then fearfully.

'Is he about to attack Ichigo?' Sado thought worriedly. He knew if it came down to it, he would take Ichigo's side. He wasn't going to let his best friend be taken out.

Inoue didn't know what to think, so she spoke up.

"Uhh, Ishida-kun, what are you doing?" Inoue asked hesitantly.

"Hold on, Inoue-san." Ishida said, his concentration not breaking for a moment. All of a sudden, ribbons surrounded Ishida. He then reached out and grabbed a crimson colored one. He opened his eyes and looked at Ichigo.

'There's no doubt about it. These reiatsu completely belongs to him. His powers have returned.' He thought, a grin forming on his face. "Hey, Kurosaki!" He yelled, not caring that it was 4:00 AM. "Nice to see you're endlessly oozing reiatsu again."

Ichigo snapped out of his trance, and turned to scowl at Ishida. He'd heard the last comment.

"FOR THE LAST TIME, DON'T MAKE IT SOUND SO NEGATIVE! He screamed, shaking his fist at Ishida. He then gave Ishida a wicked grin, as he began to walk over to his friends. "At least I have reiatsu, apposed to a Quincy, whom have to absorb reishi from the surrounding area." He said with a smirk. "Come to think of it, with all my reiatsu "oozing" all over the place, shouldn't your powers be more powerful because there's more reishi around you?" He finished, trying not to laugh.

Needless to say, Ishida was extremely pissed.

"I DO NOT NEED YOUR SECONDHAND REIATSU TO BE STRONG!" Ishida screamed indignantly. He then recomposed himself, pushed his glasses back up, and said with a sneer: "I've managed just fine for the last 2 and a half years when you didn't have reiatsu at all." He said, believing this conversation to be over now.

Ichigo just continued smiling.

"I never said you didn't manage, or you weren't strong, Ishida." He said honestly, then saying "But now it will be much easier, right?" He grinned.

"Shut up!"

"Make me!"

While Ishida and Ichigo continued to bicker, Sado and Inoue had very similar thoughts.

'Yep, Ichigo's back. No doubt about that.'

* * *

Kuchiki Rukia was pissed. She'd been in an extremely intense training session with Sode no Shirayuki, but an unexpected, random, and possibly pointless Captain/Vice Captain meeting had been called. So her day of training had been laid to waste.

'Ever since I've became Vice-Captain, I've had to go to all these pointless meetings.' She complained to herself as she watched the other Vice-Captains and Captains file in. She looked up to her captain, Ukitake Jūshirō.

"Ukitake-taicho, do you what this meeting was called about?" Rukia asked, trying to come off as genuinely interested in what the meeting was about, instead of just wanting to gauge how long it was going before she was back training again.

"Actually, I don't know myself." Ukitake said, a sheepish grin forming on his face. "I was actually in the middle of enjoying a long soak in the hot springs when a messenger from 1st Division came in and told me I needed to be at an emergency meeting. Hopefully, this is just another drill." Said Ukitake in a hopeful voice.

Rukia hoped so too.

* * *

"I will now start the meeting of the Captains and Vice Captains. We have very urgent matters to attend to." Captain Commander Yamamoto said, with a hint of urgency in his voice. "Captain Kurotsuchi, your report please."

Kurotsuchi stepped forward, looking extremely angry. "As you all know," he started, glaring at everyone in the room "after the war with Aizen, we left special reiatsu sensors in the area. Hollow attacks are so common there because of the high reishi level; we decided to leave sensors there just in case there was a large-scale Hollow invasion."

At this point, everyone in the room was sleep, or getting ready to fall asleep. But the next thing Kurotsuchi said made everyone jump out of their skin.

"However, those sensors were destroyed!" He yelled, looking around the room with a crazed look.

"How were they destroyed? No one aside from us knew of their existence!" Demanded Captain Hitsugaya.

Kurotsuchi recomposed himself, and then said:

"Those sensors would sense all reiatsu up to twice that of your standard Captain Level Shinigami. Only a reiatsu of three to four times that of a normal Captain Level Shinigami could possibly destroy that." He finished, looking at the now horrified faces on everyone present.

The Captain Commander was the first to react. "I want a team consisting of two Captains and two Vice-Captains to go to Karakura Town immediately to eliminate this new threat!" He said, looking around the room.

Hitsugaya and Kenpachi both raised their hands for approval to go. The Captain Commander nodded. As they left to prepare themselves for the trip, Ukitake turned to Rukia, with a smile on his face.

"Why don't you go as well, Rukia?" Ukitake asked. "If you go there, you can go stalk Ichi"

At that point, however, Ukitake noticed two things: One, which Rukia had already volunteered, been approved, and left. Two, he now felt the icy cold glare of one Kuchiki Byakuya.

"Please continue what you were about to say, Ukitake." Byakuya said, who was at this point considering using Senbonzarkura to help "persuade" him to finish.

"Oh my, look at the time! I've got to go cut my bonsai tree!" Ukitake stammered, then flash stepped out of the room.

* * *

"You guys ready? I don't want to have to come back for anything. Whoever might have destroyed the sensors might have moved during that time, and I want to fight this person. They sound like they'd put up an interesting fight." Kenpachi said, with a monstrous grin on his face.

Hitsugaya looked at the other two, then nodded.

"Lets go."


	4. Chapter 4: Confrontation of the Past

Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach, and never will. Bleach belongs to Tite Kubo and always will probably.

Author's note: I'm sorry I haven't posted in awhile! I got really busy all of a sudden… But now I'm back! Yay!

DontCallMeShort: Before Ichigo reverted back to being a human, he had spent like 3 three months in the passageway between Fake Karakura Town and the real one. That's why his hair was really long when he fought Aizen and Keigo said he looked taller. But when he went back to being human, all those changes disappeared, and he went back to normal. When he became a Shinigami again, he went back to the state he'd previously been in before losing his powers.

* * *

Chapter 4: Confrontation of Past Allies

As they Rukia was quite worried about her upcoming battle. Not that she wasn't confident in the skill of her team or herself, but the sheer power of their opponent was enough to make anyone (minus Kenpachi) second-guess him or herself.

'What kind of monster can exert that kind of reiatsu?' She questioned herself. The only people she knew of that could come that close to that level were both out of commission. Aizen was under lock and key in Soul Society, with reiatsu-suppressing gear attached to him, and in a building made out of material that reishi could not possibly get through. The other one had sacrificed all of his powers to defeat him, but from what she'd seen, Ichigo's reiatsu peaked at twice the amount of a normal Captain.

'Certainly Urahara felt this, I wonder if he's engaged this monster.." Rukia mused. Urahara had intervened during the Arrancar War; he might have taken the initiative and sought the source of the reiatsu.

Beside her, Renji wasn't feeling too great about the upcoming battle either. Over the last two years, he'd been working really hard to be promoted to Captain, and depending how this mission went, he could be promoted as soon as he got back. However, even with the backup he had, he wasn't sure that he could even come remotely close to pulling this battle off. His Bankai was close to being perfected, and even his kido had improved (very painstakingly at that), but he couldn't help feel the sweat collecting under his bandana.

Unlike the two Vice-Captains running behind them, Hitsugaya and Kenpachi were both eagerly running towards what they considered a great test of their strength. Since the Arrancar War, they had both increased their training regiments to the extremes.

For Hitsugaya, this mission was a way of redeeming himself from his pathetic defeat at the hands of Aizen, and proving that he was not the weakest of the captains.

For Kenpachi, it couldn't get any better than this. He was heading towards an absurdly strong enemy; it'd been so long since he'd fought anyone of real strength. Sparing had long lost its luster, and he was raring for a fight to the death with an enemy who posed great strength.

Rukia looked up. Over Hitsugaya's shoulder, she could see the heart wrenchingly familiar outline of Karakura Town.

Despite their different outlooks on the battle ahead, seeing the town made everyone think at the same time-

"It's time!"

* * *

"GOOOOOOOOOD MORNING! ICHIGO!" Screamed Kurosaki Isshin, as he prepared to deliver a salvage elbow to his son's face.

Much to his disappointment, his screaming seemed to have woken Ichigo up. And boy, did he look pissed. And that lead to Ichigo's fist to connect with Isshin's face, which lead to Isshin to fly into Ichigo's desk. Ichigo then jumped out of bed, not caring that the people in the street could now get a good look at him in only his boxers. He pointed at Isshin.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? Screamed Ichigo, fire burning in his eyes. "ARE YOU TRYING TO MURDER ME? HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF AN ALARM CLOCK?" He continued, still shaking with ire.

Isshin looked up, holding his bleeding nose. "Well done my son. There's nothing left to teach you now." He said, hoping not to get hit again.

"YOU SAY THAT EVERY MORNING!" Continued Ichigo, still completely engulfed in fury.

He would have continued yelling if Isshin hadn't taken his hand off his face and gave him the "look". Ichigo knew his dad very well: he could be a complete goofball, but when he was serious, he was dead serious.

"So, you've regained your Shinigami powers."

"Yeah. So what of it?"

"What will you do now? Soul Society will not tolerate you being a Substitute Shinigami anymore. They've run out of excuses to keep you out of their system; your powers have grown to the extent where they can no longer have you as a wild card. It's far too dangerous to have the most powerful player in the game roam free. They will force you into their system, or they will die trying to fight you. They're probably trying to get a team together to come see what that burst of reiatsu was from last night, if they haven't already dispatched the team." Isshin said, looking his son right in the eyes.

"Somehow I knew it was going to come down to this. I certainly don't want to fight Soul Society all over again, but I don't want to be away from my family. What do you think I should do?" Ichigo asked. He wasn't sure what to do, and his dad had good advice.

Some of the time anyways.

"I think you should do what you feel is right in your heart." Isshin said. "Work with Soul Society, but have it so you can come visit us every once and awhile. You need to be there." He finished.

"Why do I need to be there?" Asked Ichigo, confused. Isshin closed his eyes for a brief moment, opened them, and looked away.

"Something big is going to happen soon."

"So I've heard." Said Ichigo. Immediately after saying it he wished he hadn't.

Isshin looked at him, then reached in his pocket and handed him a cell phone. "This phone will be able to call me from anywhere. And I mean ANYWHERE. It will be able to get through from Earth, Soul Society, or Hueco Mundo. Not only will this keep you somewhat close to your family, it could end up being the crucial information source in case of an attack." Isshin finished.

Ichigo nodded and pocketed the cell phone. He then walked over to his bookshelf at pull out a book. Isshin gave him a funny look.

"What are you doing with…_The Tale of Two Cities_?" Isshin asked, very much baffled at his sons random actions. He remained this way till he saw what was inside the book.

Inside the book, someone had cut a large square in the middle of the pages. Ichigo reached inside the hole and pulled out….

'Heh, so that's where he kept it.' Isshin thought to himself.

Ichigo looked at his Substitute Shinigami License. After a year of not having his powers, he could no longer bare to look at it because of the memories it brought back.

But now….

All of a sudden, four power reiatsus came into existence. Ichigo recognized all of them, and grinned to himself.

'I have a really good idea how to freak them out.' He thought pointedly.

"Hey Zangetsu!"

"What is it, Ichigo?"

"I need you to suppress my reiatsu till…"

* * *

The Shinigami team looked around. There were no traces of abnormal reiatsus, or really large ones for that matter.

Rukia was the only one who felt something was off. The air that hit her felt like something very familiar to her, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Then, they were completely caught off guard as reiatsu hit them like a freight train. It was so intense that even Hitsugaya was forced to his knees. Rukia and Renji were having a difficult time doing that.

Completely opposite of his comrades, Kenpachi stood there and smiled like a small child would on his or her birthday.

Even though his reiatsu sensing skills were next to null, he was easily able to detect the source of the reiatsu, which was standing directly above them.

The source was dressed in a modified Shihakusho with a hood with long red threads sprayed out at the end of the arm cuffs. The source also had a hollow mask on that had horns and two red lines running down the sides.

The other three were not able to identify the reiatsu because of the overwhelming pressure they were under, but Kenpachi was able to withstand it, and he knew this reiatsu very well. Why wouldn't he; he'd spent a lot of time in Soul Society trying to trace it so he could challenge the person responsible for the reiatsu to a duel to the death.

Kenpachi looked at the source, smiled even wider, and waved to it.

"Hey, I missed you! Now take off your mask so we can fight! I wanna see your face before blood gets all over it, Ichigo!

* * *

What will happen next? Tune in next time for the ultimate clash of Kenpachi, Hitsugaya, Renji, and Rukia VS The new, improved Ichigo!

Till next time!


	5. Chapter 5:En garde, Battle at 20,000feet

Chapter 5

Author's note: I'm sorry I haven't been able to update as much as I said I would this week! I've had a lot of stuff to do… .But anyways, I'm gonna make it up to you with this supperrr long, super awesome chapter! The writing schedule will be back to normal this week! So without further ado…

Again, review, favorite, critique, question, and most importantly, enjoy!

Rckmn

* * *

Chapter 5: En garde! Showdown at Twenty Thousand Feet!

"Ichi…. Ichigo?" Rukia asked somewhat weakly. The reiatsu that once had almost crushed them now had receded back to a somewhat reasonable level.

Reasonable for Ichigo, that is.

She really didn't need to ask; she knew his reiatsu like the back of her hand. She'd only lived with him a couple months, fought with him, and dreamed about the way his reiatsu wrapped around her. It was completely intoxicating to her. But she still felt like asking; it'd been so long since she'd actually talked to him, not just spied on him having conversations with other people. Like Orihime…

Ichigo's mask turned black and red from the reishi that was spilling off, and dissipated. The face that had once been covered by a mask now showed a face with a soft smile and sparkling eyes. Orange hair spilled down his face and neck.

"Hey guys, long time no see!" Yelled Ichigo, trying to get a feel on the situation he was in. If Soul Society had known it was him, they would have sent a team that did not consist of Zaraki Kenpachi to talk to him into coming to Soul Society. They would have sent his friends, who had the best rate of persuading him to coming. If that was not enough to convince him, the mere fact that three of the four Shinigami who stood before him all had their blades drawn and were resting in a defensive stance.

Ichigo frowned at the scene. "Okay, Kenpachi I can understand having his blade out, but why do you guys have your blades out?" He said skeptically, hand ready to jump to Zangetsu's hilt if needed.

Hitsugaya looked at his companions, then looked back to Ichigo. "Soul Society has issued a death warrant on your head, Kurosaki Ichigo. Your reiatsu overloaded and destroyed the sensors we had placed here in order to prevent another Hollow invasion, and we were dispatched to do take care of the source of that reiatsu." Hitsugaya finished, eyeing Ichigo.

Rukia was quite conflicted on the inside. Did she side with Ichigo, or did she side with Soul Society? Siding with Ichigo would mean a life on the run, her position as Vice-Captain revoked, and not to mention it would not reflect well on the Kuchiki clan at all, and more importantly, her brother.

But this was Ichigo. Not only were they incredibly good friends and crushes, he'd saved her life, Soul Society, and the world. Soul Society would let him off for destroying some equipment they had; they couldn't really hold it against him after all he'd done. He was the only man who could ever be in higher regard to Kaien to her.

However, the others looked like they didn't care about the situation at all. They were all ready to go for the kill from the looks of it. They all had grins on their faces, and tensed up.

Renji looked over at Rukia. He knew that this battle was not going to be easy for her.

Ichigo was always a soft spot for her, it was well known all throughout Soul Society, but no one said anything in fear of her brother's wraith.

'Maybe if I beat Ichigo, she'll see me in the light she sees him in.' Thought Renji snidely. Ichigo was his friend, but Rukia was much more important to him than Ichigo was. He was preparing to attack when he heard a voice in his head.

"Renji, this could be your final battle." Echoed in his head. Renji's eyes widened considerably. Zabimaru had always been just like him, confident and always ready for a fight. To hear him sound hesitant to fight was something that had never happened before. And quite frankly, it freaked him out.

"Why do you say that, Zabimaru?" Questioned Renji, still in a state of shock. What came next was something he was not expecting.

"I know you are not dull enough to have not picked up on Kurosaki's and that bastard Zangetsu's overwhelming reiatsu. If you chose to fight, I will support you wholeheartedly, but going up against him for the sake of pride must just be our downfall." Zabimaru concluded.

"I know Ichigo was powerful and all, but I haven't been sitting on my butt these last two years! I show him! Zabimaru, we shall triumph!" Renji screamed in his head.

"Very well. Let's crush him!" Screamed Zabimaru in return.

Renji jumped out of formation, and flew towards Ichigo as fast as he could. Within seconds, his Shikai was out and extending out to slash at Ichigo.

Ichigo had a bemused look on his face as he watched the blade shoot towards him.

"Ahhhhh…. Seeing that attack brings back some memories… Too bad it's weak as hell!" Ichigo yelled with a grin on his face. He raised his own blade above his head, with it lining up perfectly with Renji.

'Oh shit, is he about to do what I think he's going to do?' Thought Renji worriedly. He had one option was a viable way to stop that attack.

Hitsugaya knew what attack was coming as well, and prepared himself to cover Renji, who looked quite open to an attack of that nature.

Kenpachi grinned even wider. He wasn't about to jump in now. He wanted to fight Ichigo one on one; not four on one. Kenpachi does not like sharing, especially good opponents.

Three voices cried out at the same time:

"Getsuga Tenshou!"

"Bankai!"

Two different sources exploded with reiatsu, but the light coming off those two sources were quickly encompassed by a huge blue wave of reiatsu, which soon after exploded, sending blue reishi all over. What was left was a sight to behold.

Renji was barely standing, the top part of his Shihakusho completely obliterated from the attack, with blood running down his chest and face. His Bankai seemed worse for wear (many segments having been completely shattered), but he could make up for them by channeling more reiatsu into it.

Hitsugaya remained standing without injury, but he was soaking wet. The sheer intensity of the attack had melted the ice of his Bankai, but he was far from out of the fight. He raised his hand up, pointed towards Ichigo, and yelled:

"Carriage of Thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six!" Bakudō 61: Rikujōkōrō!" He yelled, watching as 6 rectangles of light converged on Ichigo.

Ichigo looked at his newly added restraints with a level of annoyance, and looked at Hitsugaya.

"You just HAD to use kido. The one area out of ALL my Shinigami and Hollowifacation abilities that I have no experience in." He said somewhat pissed, somewhat amused. He looked over at Rukia with an irritated face, completely ignoring Hitsugaya, who'd begun chanting another incantation.

"Oi Rukia!"

Rukia looked at Ichigo with an apathetic face; she could tell he was about to whine about something.

"What is it, Ichigo?"

"Why didn't you ever teach me Kido? Aren't all Shinigami required to know at least some?" Ichigo asked, not knowing what kind of response he would get.

Rukia sighed, and then gave Ichigo a sadistic look.

"Well, I figured an idiot like you who couldn't control his reiatsu and is always leaking it would end up overpowering even the simplest of spells." She finished, watching Ichigo slump over, now in a funk. She smiled at him, knowing it was just a farce. What she'd said was true though; if Ichigo ever even began to learn kido, he'd have to learn to control his reiatsu. With the amount of reiatsu he had, he could easily take out a mountain with a low level spell.

Hitsugaya finished his incantation, and yelled:

"Hadō 88: Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!"

A huge blue blast of reishi shot from Hitsugaya's hands, flying towards Ichigo at an incredible speed. Ichigo rolled his eyes, broke out of the Binding spell, and raised Zangetsu up so that the flat side was in front of him.

The beam hit Zangetsu, and bounced off immediately, flying up into the sky, where it eventually dissipated. Hitsugaya stared wide-eyed at the scene.

"Impossible! That was a level 88 Hadō! He shouldn't have been able to deflect it so easily! I need to go all out with my new attack!" Hitsugaya thought to himself, as he raised his blade, and once again went into Bankai. After the transformation had finished, he twisted his blade so that the point was facing the ground.

Ichigo was watching Hitsugaya with interest now, but also noticed how the others had moved to a location that was about two hundred yards away.

Hitsugaya let go of his blade, which remained where he'd let go of it, and put his palms together. He then screamed:

"Shi o furōzuntandora! {Frozen Tundra of Death}"

Hitsugaya's blade rotated so that it pointed towards Ichigo, and then a sea of icicles erupted from the hilt and guard. Ichigo's eyes widened slightly at the magnitude of the attack; and the attack engulfed him.

To the rest of the Shinigami team, it looked like a giant iceberg was floating in midair. Rukia and Renji were shocked; they had no idea that the he had such a technique. Kenpachi, on the other hand, was looking at what was inside the iceberg.

'What will you do now, Ichigo?' he thought, with a sinister smile on his face. His hand gripped the hilt of his Zanpakuto. He was raring to go.

Hitsugaya looked over the scene. Kurosaki was completely frozen over.

'Heh. Looks like my training did pay off.' He thought happily to himself. However, he was prevented from congratulating himself any further by a loud snap noise. The iceberg, which had originally been a transparent blue, now was a glowing crimson red. Then, a huge condensed beam of reiatsu shot out of the iceberg, completely shattering the ice, reveling a completely unharmed Ichigo. Ichigo looked around, taking in his bearings, then sneezed.

"Sheesh, that was cold." He muttered. He then directed his attention to Hitsugaya, and then to Kenpachi. If this battle went on much longer, Karakura Town could suffer some serious damages. They were high above the city, but Ichigo knew that large chunks of ice had fallen on the city, probably damaging certain parts of it quite severely. He need to end this. Fast.

He spun Zangetsu by the cloth extending from the end of the handle, and then lashed it out at Hitsugaya.

Hitsugaya saw the attack coming, and dodge it.

But what he had not expected was for Ichigo to use shunpo, grab the handle of his blade, and attack him. Blood flowed out of a salvage cut on Hitsugaya's chest as he fell down, Bankai dissipating and breaking into small shards. He fell in between two buildings, and after the smoke and debris disappeared, a small crater was visible with him inside it. He stirred a little, but did not get back up.

Kenpachi looked at the scene, then laughed.

"Finally! I was getting so damn bored! Let's go, Ichigo! Show me your new power!" Screamed Kenpachi, Zanpakuto drawn and ready to slash.

Ichigo watched Kenpachi get closer and closer, then did something that Kenpachi did not expect.

Ichigo began to chant an incantation.

"My right hand is the stone that bridges worlds. My left hand is the blade that binds reality. The black-haired shepherd is hung from a chair. Stratus clouds come, and I strike down the ibis." He chanted in an apathetic voice.

He held his hand out, and with his index finger, conjured a large black hole.

Kenpachi looked at the whole with curiosity.

'Garuganta? He means for us to fight in Hueco Mundo? Fine by me. Plus, Yama-jiji won't lecture me about exerting too much reiatsu in the World of the Living again." Kenpachi thought to himself.

He watched Ichigo fly into the abyss, and then followed in suite.

Rukia and Renji watched everything that transpierced, and without any kind of verbal indicator, launched themselves into the black hole that would lead them to the Hollow world, and who knows what else.

* * *

"So, the source of the reiatsu was the former Substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo?"

"Yes sir, Captain Yamamoto. He appears to have grown much stronger since the last time I saw him fight, and much more… Mature?"

"I see. Whatever you do, do not engage him in combat unless he attacks you. He would be a invaluable asset to the Gotei 13." Yamamoto finished, as a large sweat drop ran down the back of his head.

"You see, I cannot follow that order, Captain Commander." Hitsugaya said in a regretful tone.

"And why can't you?" Yamamoto said, anger quite evident in his voice.

"We already engaged him in combat. He defeated Vice-Captain Abarai and myself, and is currently in route to Hueco Mundo to fight Captain Kenpachi. I'm assuming he did this to avoid damaging the town." Hitsugaya said lamely. "Vice-Captain Kuchiki and Abarai also followed them into the Garuganta." He finished. Yamamoto stroked his beard in deep thought, then said:

"When you've recovered enough, go to Urahara Kisuke's shop, and have him open up the Garuganta for you. When you find Kurosaki, tell him I wish to speak to him, here in Soul Society." Yamamoto finished. Hitsugaya nodded.

"Yes sir!" He said, ready to fulfill his orders. Yamamoto nodded, then the screen on Hitsugaya's phone went blank. Hitsugaya put the phone back in his pocket and resumed putting blood-clotting paste on his chest.

'Why is it me who always ends up getting all cut up?'

* * *

Ichigo and Kenpachi stood on opposite towers shooting up from Las Noches. Both had swords in hand, and were ready to fight. Rukia and Renji watched from a tower that was out of the way enough to see what was going on in the battle, but close enough to see all everything.

"It's really ironic to think that the guy who you gave your Shinigami powers to, who was considered scum by all of Soul Society, ends up being one of the strongest Shinigami to date." Laughed Renji, somewhat painfully. It was painful to admit that Ichigo was so much stronger than him, but it was true. He'd blown him away without much effort at all. It was also painful to laugh because of his injury, but he wasn't about to let that show.

"Yeah, it really is ironic." Rukia said, intently watching Ichigo. Without even realizing it, they'd fallen right back into their old routine, insulting the other, then getting upset, then forgiving the other. She'd missed him so much….

Renji saw how Rukia was intensely watching Ichigo with a small smile and sparkling eyes, so he decided not to talk anymore and just watch the fight.

"You ready Kenpachi?" Screamed Ichigo, as he adapted a fighting stance.

Kenpachi laughed.

"I've always been ready to fight you, Ichigo!" Laughed Kenpachi, as he took off towards Ichigo. Ichigo also pushed off the tower, flying towards Kenpachi. Their blades met and displayed a large amount of sparks.

* * *

Inside the fortress, a feminine figure awoke with a start.

"This feeling… Ichigo's here?"


	6. Chapter 6: Finish the Fight! Onwards!

Chapter 6

Reiatsu Overload! A Fight to the Death

Author's note: I don't own Bleach, and never will. Kubo Tite owns Bleach, and probably always will.

Author's second note: Okay guys, I know I've been gone for seems like forever (seemed like that to me anyway), but I'm back now! I blame my absence on the public education system…. Specifically my General Biology class… But while I was gone, I came up with some super awesome ideas for the story! So you will be rewarded for your wait Please review, favorite, comment, and question. I will respond!

* * *

Kenpachi felt like it was his birthday. Battles of this intensity came rarely ever happen, and even when they did come around, Kenpachi always seemed to miss out. It wasn't his fault he sucked at sensing reiatsu…

But this battle had made up for all the others he'd missed. He looked around at the surrounding landscape. Large craters littered the landscape, some deep enough to where you could see the inside of the large castle. Large white towers that had once stood tall enough that they seemed to pierce the very darkness of the dark now stood as shadows of their former selves, now standing at less their original heights. In front of him stood Kurosaki Ichigo.

Ichigo stared at Kenpachi, panting quite heavily. He hadn't sustained any major injuries yet, but he'd received plenty of small gashes and his shiahakusho had been torn in a couple places. But he wasn't about to quit because of that.

What he was worried about was the amount of reiatsu that had been released during their fight. Hollows from all over would sense that and come running out of their hiding places to try to feast on them. Not that it would happen, but it certainly would be troublesome to fight off a horde of Menos in his condition. Knowing Kenpachi, he wouldn't want to end this battle till one of them was on the brink of death. And even then, he didn't know if he would stop. He had to end this. Now.

Looking at Kenpachi, who was significantly worse for wear compared to himself, Ichigo raised Zangetsu to where it pointed at Kenpachi. The long strand of cloth wrapped around his arm. He smirked as he watched Kenpachi's smile spread even wider.

"This guy is a total masochist." Ichigo joked to himself as he pronounced a word he hadn't been able to vocalize in 2 and a half years.

"Bankai."

* * *

Renji and Rukia looked on the battlefield with nothing but sheer awe. To fight Zaraki Kenpatchi, one of the strongest Captains in all Soul Society, who specialized in this type of combat, to this point with minor injuries was almost incomprehensible. When they saw Ichigo preparing to go into Bankai, they both wondered what was going on. Ichigo could finish the fight without the assistance of his Bankai, so why was he using it?

"Does he intend to kill Captain Zaraki?" Exclaimed Renji, who was now quite worried. Not at the sake of losing a Captain, but that Ichigo would kill him like this. This wasn't the Ichigo he knew.

"I don't think so." Said Rukia, with a hand on her chin. "I think he just wants to finish this fight up." She concluded, with a small grin on her face.

"Well, I can certainly sympathize with him, fighting him for too long would unnerve anyone, especially with that crazy smile of his." Renji said while nodding his head.

* * *

In the far distance, a large black whole appeared, and out came a very small, white haired boy. Hitsugaya landed on the coarse cold sand, and looked around. When he saw a huge explosion of black and red reishi to the north of his location, he began to fly towards it as fast as he could.

"Crap! They've taken their battle to that level already? What were they thinking?" Exclaimed the white haired captain as he watched the giant mass begin to spin in a tornado-like fashion.

He was still quite far from it, but at the pace he was traveling, he estimated his time of arrival would be in about 20 minutes. But would that be in time to stop them from killing each other and attracting hordes of Hollows?

* * *

As the dust cleared, Zaraki looked at Ichigo still with his crazed smile. He started to chuckle, which then turned into a full out laugh. Ichigo looked at him confused.

"What's so funny?" He asked, still somewhat confused.

Kenpachi stopped laughing, but the grin never left his face.

"Now that you're going all out, I can too!" Kenpachi screamed as he tore his eyepatch off. Large amounts of yellow reiatsu poured off of him as he resumed laughing. He pointed his sword towards Ichigo and said.

"Now that we're all out fighting, you can't touch me!" Kenpachi screamed, moving his sword back to his side. A large tower next to him was cut in two.

Ichigo surveyed the damage and Kenpachi's reiatsu and then sighed. Kenpachi looked at him, taking the sigh as if Ichigo was scoffing at him.

"What's wrong, Ichigo? Are you afraid of dying? Well, get over it, because I'm going to kill you right now!" Screamed Kenpachi as he dashed towards Ichigo.

As Kenpachi reached Ichigo, he jumped up and slashed out at Ichigo. All of a sudden, Kenpachi noticed his sword was moving at a snails pace. Ichigo remained standing there for a moment, then lifted his head and said.

"Sorry Kenpachi, this fight is over." He said in a dead voice. Kenpachi's eyes widened and Ichigo vanished.

About two seconds later, Ichigo reappeared behind Kenpachi, sword by his side. A breeze flowed past the two men as they remained frozen in their positions.

As if on a cue, two gigantic slash marks which intercepted each other in an x-like shape appeared on the ground underneath Kenpachi. Then, Kenpachi's body seemed to explode, blood shooting everywhere. After all the blood had fallen to the ground, Kenpachi plunged straight forward onto the ground. His sword hit the ground and broke into six different segments.

Ichigo turned around and walked over to his opponent, allowing Zangetsu to revert back to his Shikai state. He put it on his back as he reached him. Kenpachi's head shakily rose and turned to look at Ichigo. He then chuckled slightly.

"Who'd have thought that there was such a difference in our powers?" Zaraki asked Ichigo with a laugh. "You damaged me to the point where I can't move anymore, but I'm not going to die." He continued, looking at Ichigo, who was now grinning.

"I knew you wouldn't stay down unless I forced you to the point where you were almost dead." Laughed Ichigo as he knelt down beside Kenpachi, looking at his "friend."

"And I know you would have taken it personally if I didn't use my Bankai to do it." He continued, watching Kenpachi nod his head in agreement, with a much less vicious smile on his face.

* * *

After listening in to the conversation between the two former combatants, Rukia and Renji nodded to each other and began to walk over to them.

However, they stopped when a green blur shot out of one of the craters that had fully punctured the roof and fly over to Ichigo. The blur knocked Ichigo over, making him flip backwards several times before he finally regained his stance. As soon as he did, the green blur shot towards him again, this time stopping in front of him and attaching itself to him.

Both Renji and Rukia took fighting stances, but when they saw what had attached to Ichigo, both Shinigami were very jealous.

'What does that whore think she's doing, holding on to Ichigo like that?' Rukia fumed in her head.

'Why does Ichigo always get the hot chicks? Why can't I get a little action? Renji cried in his head. First Orihime, then Rukia, now her?

* * *

Well I think that went okay…. Remember, review and subscribe!


	7. Chapter 7: Soul Society, here we come!

Chapter 7

Author's note: Last time I checked, my name isn't Kubo Tite, therefore I don't own Bleach.

Another Author's note: So I kinda disappeared off the face of the Earth for about two months. Sorry about that DX, I had lots of family randomly appear, and then there was Christmas…. Anyways, I'm gonna try to get back on a more regular writing schedule, and this chapter will be well worth your wait! So onwards! As always, feel free to write reviews, subscribe, and send me ideas that I should add into the story!

For those of you who reviewed, thank you! You guys really help me feel the inspiration for writing.

And now, without further ado….

* * *

One moment Ichigo was looking at a downed and very bloody Kenpachi, and the next he was on the ground with his head throbbing. When the pain subsided, he began to take in his surroundings.

face was currently between two incredibly soft masses that were moving up and down.

'Am I in Heaven? Ichigo thought to himself lazily as he enjoyed the softness of this strange new experience.

2. There was a voice that was very close, and when the voice could be heard, the masses would vibrate. He couldn't identify the voice because the masses seemed to muffle out all sounds.

3. There were other voices in the distance, but they were getting louder. One was very shrill and the other one very deep.

4. He couldn't breathe.

'Is breathing worth leaving this wonderful place?' Ichigo thought. He then decided that no, breathing was not worth leaving this place. It felt that good.

Unfortunately for Ichigo, one Kuchiki Rukia disagreed with this decision. With a face beat red; she pried Ichigo out of Nel's embrace.

As soon she had, Ichigo took a gigantic inhale, replenishing his oxygen levels. He then looked at Rukia, still with a blissful smile on his face, and asked:

"What happened? Where was I?" He asked as he looked around, as Rukia's scowl went to a whole new level and pointed at Nel's chest.

Ichigo stared at Nel for about ten seconds.

And then he passed out. Nel looked down at him worriedly; she'd just wanted to give him a hug! She hadn't seen the Shinigami in two and a half years, the one who had protected her while she was still stuck in her child form, the one with whom she'd had an amazing adventure. And now she'd gone and knocked him out.

"Ichigo, please wake up! ICHIGO!" She screamed, and proceeded to try to grab his body. Rukia saw this, slung Ichigo over her shoulder, and began to run away with him. Soon, the sounds of shunpo and sonido rang out across the devastated roof of the castle of Las Noches.

"Give Ichigo back! I want to thank him properly for everything he's done for me!"

"Never! You've done enough already! He's MINE!"

Renji fell over from laughing so hard, tears pouring down the side of his face. Rukia heard this and yelled out in an annoyed voice " Renji, pick Kenpachi up! We're getting out of here!

Renji quickly complied; he'd spent far too much time with Rukia and knew the consequences of not listening to her when she was angry. He quickly picked up Kenpachi, and began to run. Then it occurred to him.

"Rukia, how exactly are we getting out of here? Renji yelled worriedly. "Ichigo's the only one who can open up the Garuganta to get out of here, and below us will be all sorts of Menos Grandes!" He finished, looking at Ichigo exasperatedly.

Rukia was about to speak up, but then all of a sudden Captain Hitsugaya appeared, looking rather cross. He then turned to Renji and said: "Don't worry Abarai, I've got this under control." Toshiro said, as they came to the edge of the castle. He grabbed both Rukia's and Renji's arms and jumped over the edge.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Screamed Renji, as tears began to freely flow from his eyes as he looked down at the mass of hollows below. Normally, he'd be excited to fight that many hollows, but still being injured from him early battle with Ichigo would severely handicap him.

Rukia smiled at the opportunity to fight so many hollows while Ichigo was unconscious. When they'd been partnered together, he'd always had to protect her. But now she was powerful enough to protect the both of them. However, with Toshiro's arm gripping hers, she couldn't reach her Zanpakuto. She frowned, and decided to go with whatever Hitsugaya had planned.

Toshiro closed his eyes and went over the essentials to the technique he was able to use.

_Flashback:_

_He and the Second Division Captain stood in a large bright cavern that had large slash marks, some which had black and red reishi burning on them._ _In front of them was none other than the Goddess of the Flash, __Shihōin __Yoruichi, whom had a wide, arrogant smirk on her face. She began to speak, and both listened intently._

"_This particular variation of shunpo is extremely difficult to perform and is a well coveted secret technique of the Black Ops." Yoruichi stated, as she began to walk in a circle around the two short captains. "The only reason I'm teaching you this move is because you two have been chosen to do a lot of recon work in Hueco Mundo in the light of recent events with Aizen, and you will have no way to get back, seeing as the Garuganta can only be opened by one person in all of Soul Society, and he's far too proud to teach it to anyone else." She put in, hatred dripping from her words. The temperature of the cave dropped dramatically, as Soi Fon began to shiver. Toshiro had no problem with the temperature, seeing as his Zanpakuto was ice. _

_Soi Fon was considering seeking out Kurotsuchi Mayuri and killing him to please her beloved Yoruichi-sama. She also knew that it would be a much appreciated change; the only reason that Mayuri still had his position as President of the Science Bureau and Captain of the Twelfth Division is that no one could match his intelligence in Soul Society at the time. He had broken many laws, especially when it came to his "experiments", and not one of the current captains held him in any high regard. His own Division was scared shitless of him. _

_All of a sudden, Yoruichi seemed to come out of her thoughts and continued to talk about the technique she was about to teach them._ "_I originally developed this technique when I was Captain of the Second Division. The Captain Commander ordered Urahara Kisuke and I to do large amounts of reconnaissance in Hueco Mundo due to a drastic increase in hollow development. The problem was, Urahara was the only one who could open the Garuganta. So I developed these." Yoruichi finished as she held out two short knives with kanji written all across the handle and hilt. _

"_What does this do, Yoruichi-sama?" Asked Soi Fon, somewhat confused. Yoruichi smiled and continued. _ "_Good question Soi Fon, these knives are allow you to use the technique I'm about to teach you." Yoruichi finished as she handed them one knife respectively. _ "_Now, do you see that little square in the middle of the handle?" Yoruichi asked. Both captains nodded._ "_Now, I want to cut yourselves and put a little bit of your blood in that square." She instructed, immensely enjoying the confusion that the two captains were experiencing._

_ Both captains took the knife and cut themselves on their index fingers, and smeared the blood into the square. After they finished, they looked back at Yoruichi, waiting for further instruction. _ _  
Yoruichi then said "Good, now channel a good amount of your reiatsu into the little square."_ _Both captains were surrounded with an aura of reishi, and began to channel it into the square. The square then turned bright orange, and then faded._ _Yoruichi took the knives and inspected them. Once she was satisfied with them, she handed them back to them. _

"_Now, the reason why you just did that this knife now holds your essence. The reason that's important is because this knife will now serve as a maker you can travel to from anywhere. And when I say anywhere, I mean it." Yoruichi grinned at the stupefied faces of the two captains. "This special variation of shunpo creates an attraction between you and anything that has your essence, and the essence outside of your body will force your body to travel towards it. During this time, your body becomes a blob of reishi, along with anyone you're holding on to. If your body doesn't successfully convert fully into a blob of reishi, you will die from the speed you're traveling." Yoruichi finished, looking at the two quite seriously. "Even for a captain-class Shinigami, the strain on the body is far too much." She finished. _

_She then looked at the two captains, who were seemingly completely unphased by the idea of dying. She chuckled to herself, then continued._ "_Now, for the actual shunpo technique, you need to…"_

Flashback end:

Toshiro's reiatsu fully encompassed Rukia, Renji, Ichigo, and Kenpachi, and then they took the colors of their own reishi (respectively). Then all of their reishi converged together. A great golden ball of reishi was formed, and Toshiro's voice could be heard from outside of it.

"Shihou kuro wa suteppu-hō o-kyō 6: Jigen no Suteppu o Koete!" 

_(Shihou Black Ops Step Technique 6: Dimensional Transcending Step!)_


	8. Chapter 8:Transition to WoTL!

Chapter 8: Transitioning to the World of the Living!

Author's note: I do not own Bleach. The last time I checked, I'm not Kubo Tite.

Another Author's note: Thank you for your comments and suggestions! They were very nice to read, and it helps me keep writing, despite my irregular posting schedule. I'm trying to do better at it, but stuff like homework comes up, and I have to be carted off to do it… Regardless of my meandering pity party, here's the chapter! As always, feel free to review, subscribe, critique, give me your ideas, and most importantly….

Enjoy!

* * *

_Recap of what happened in the last chapter:_

_Toshiro's reiatsu fully encompassed Rukia, Renji, Ichigo, and Kenpachi, and then they took the colors of their own reishi (respectively). Then all of their reishi converged together. A great golden ball of reishi was formed, and Toshiro's voice could be heard from outside of it._

_"Shihou kuro wa suteppu-hō o-kyō 6: Jigen no Suteppu o Koete!"_

_(Shihou Black Ops Step Technique 6: Dimensional Transcending Step!)_

_End of recap._

The giant golden ball quivered in place, then shot straight up into they sky. The ball continued to ascend higher and higher, getting brighter all the while. Hollows all over Hueco Mundo could see the great ball. They were so shocked at these turn of events that they even forgot they were hungry.

Nel sat on the edge of the castle, looking straight up into the near blinding light.

"Is this like what Shinigami refer to as the Sun?" She wondered out loud. It was incredibly beautiful; and not only that, but for the first time ever, she felt _warm_ outside of the castle. Aizen had done something inside the castle to somewhat mimic what happened in Soul Society.

Apparently, even heartless bastards can feel a little homesick.

The ball completely disappeared, and all was silent.

The silence lasted for about 20 seconds, broken by a very irate Vasto Lorde with tealish-blue hair, and an enormous ego. His yell echoed for many miles for all to hear.

"What the fuck was that? Ichigo, you bastard, get back here!"

* * *

As soon as his body had been encompassed by the ball, Ichigo could no longer feel that he had a body. He was only aware that he was thinking. He could also feel the presence of the others, especially Rukia's for some strange reason...

'I suppose that is so because I've been around her the longest.' Ichigo reasoned with himself. However, he knew that he could feel her presence anywhere, regardless where she was.

Granted he had his Shinigami powers, that is.

Then, all of a sudden, the feeling in his body came back, along with his sight. He could now easily make out the others, illuminated by the warm bright light of the ball they were in.

Then, all of a sudden, they all began to experience the feeling that they were being forced through a VERY narrow tube.

Needless to say, it was a very uncomfortable experience for everyone.

However, this feeling was nothing in contrast to what happened next. In their all of their collective experiences, nothing could have prepared Ichigo, Rukia, Renji, and Toshiro to be able to guard themselves against what they heard next.

"Damn it! This feels just the time when Yachiru convinced me to go down that stupid death tube she called a "elephant slide" the first time I took her to the World of the Living! " Kenpachi's irritated voice rang out, with a touch of panic in it. " I was stuck in there for 3 days before she could pull me out! And now it's happening again!" He screamed out.

First there was silence.

And then unanimously, Kenpachi's teammates burst out into uncontrollable laughter. For the first time in years, Ichigo laughed so hard he cried.

Renji was now having breathing problems.

Rukia was clutching her sides, trying to will away her laughter so she could regain her composure. Which didn't work out too well.

Toshiro had snorted so hard he'd hurt the roof of his mouth, and was now laughing like there was no tomorrow.

However, their laughing spree was interrupted all of a sudden, courteously of a large hole opened in the front of the ball they were in. Next thing they knew, they'd been spewn unceremoniously out of their little bright ball into what looked like an attic of some sort.

Ichigo was the first to hit the ground, first hitting one of the trusses with his head, and then falling onto the unforgiving dirty wood floor of the attic. He rolled onto his back to try to reorient himself.

Rukia was a little bit more fortunate. She managed to twist out of the way of the trusses, but ended up landing in a suggestive position on top of a now very red strawberry.

However, Renji was more unfortunate than the both of them. He was chucked like a Frisbee out of the hole, hit 2 different trusses, and fell on his face. A small groan was heard from his non-moving body. He decided to stay there for the meantime until the throbbing in his head when away.

Which was a bad idea.

Kenpachi shot out backwards and fell directly on top of him, only leaving a little bit of red hair sticking out visible to an onlooker.

Hitsugaya casually hopped out of the hole and landed quite gracefully next to a weird looking knife.

As soon as Toshiro had disembarked from the ball, the hole closed, leaving nothing abnormal in the dirty attic.

After everyone got their bearings and sat up (in Rukia's case she was sitting in Ichigo's lap), they looked at Kenpachi.

And the laughter continued.

Ichigo had not felt this happy in such a long time. There wasn't a single hint of his trademark scowl on his face. Instead, a happy, laughing smile etched his handsome rugged features as he continued to laugh at not only the hilarity of the image of Kenpachi stuck in a slide meant for 4 year olds with Yachiru trying to pull him out, but that wasn't the only factor contributing to the elation he was feeling.

The happy laughter and the smile that was on Rukia's face seemed to have lit something inside Ichigo's very soul.

Something that was now feeling Ichigo with an incomprehensible amount of happiness. The happiness he was feeling wasn't foreign to him, but had long been absent in his life. The carefree smile he wore wasn't new to him either.

It was the same happiness and smile that he'd lost when his mother had died all those years ago.

The carefree smile and happiness that comes from seeing the one you cherish happy.

* * *

Zangetsu stood on the spire of the highest skyscraper in Ichigo's soul, looking up into a cloudless sky. The sky, which had once wept uncontrollably, now was illuminated by a bright, warm sun. Zangetsu closed his eyes, smirked, and enjoyed the warmth that passed through his body. A constant cool breeze blew by, keeping the temperature very pleasant. Zangetsu, still smirking, gave out a light chuckle, then said:

"Ichigo, under these conditions I flourish. I'm glad you've finally began to understand the feelings which were buried so deeply I only knew about them." He finished, still smiling.

And at this rate, he could be united once again with Sode no Shirayuki.

* * *

After the laughter had finally died (and they were able to look at Kenpachi without bursting right back into it), Rukia noticed that she was in Ichigo's lap.

Ichigo's blissful mood was then woefully interrupted, courteously of Rukia's fist to his chin. She then stood up and began to yell at Ichigo, trying to suppress the blush that had broken out across her face.

"You idiot! Why the hell were you holding me like that?" She yelled as she continued to hit him.

However, her questions fell upon deaf ears, because Ichigo was trying to come up with a retort that didn't consist of stuttering and apologizing. He soon found a retort he liked.

"Shut up midget! I didn't notice it because I was preoccupied with laughing!" He yelled back, only to receive another punch to the head.

As their quarrel continued, the onlookers all thought the same thing.

'Wow, glad I'm not in his position…."

After Rukia had gotten tired of beating up Ichigo, she turned to Hitsugaya.

"So where are we anyways?" She asked, while the others looked at the captain with equal interest.

Toshiro stiffened for a bit, then regained his composure, and said, "This is the attic of the Kurosaki residence." He finished, as he looked down.

"Ehhhhh?" Both Rukia and Ichigo stammered, quite surprised by this new information.

"So why did you decide the best place for us to come out WAS IN MY ATTIC?" Yelled Ichigo, who was now sweating, expecting Isshin to appear out of nowhere to attack him.

Toshiro quickly responded. "Shihou kuro wa suteppu-hō o-kyō 6: Jigen no Suteppu o Koete is a technique that was originally developed in order for Shinigami who cannot use Garuganta to get to and from Hueco Mundo. However, the technique requires that you have a marker in the plane where you need to travel." He said as he picked up the bizarre knife and showed it to everyone. "I placed it here when my team first got here in order to be able to get to you if I needed to contact you immediately or drag you off to Hueco Mundo." Hitsugaya finished, staring at Ichigo.

Ichigo thought it over for a bit, it seemed like a good enough explanation to him, so he shrugged it off. "That does seem like the smart thing to do.." Ichigo said to Hitsugaya in a contemplating tone.

Although he didn't show it any sign of what he was feeling, Toshiro had just done a heel click, directly followed by two fist pumps.

'Yes! I can't believe he bought that! Phew, and I thought for a moment he would have discovered that I've been coming here almost everyday to talk to his sister!' Hitsugaya congratulated himself. 'That was pure genius, nothing short of it.' He continued, very pleased with himself.

However, Hitsugaya was interrupted from his thoughts and began panicking when he heard Ichigo's voice in a demanding tone.

"Hey, why is there a hole in the ceiling right above my sisters' room?"

* * *

Cliffhanger! Sorta kinda… Anyways, the next chapter will be issued soon! It's going to be 4 times as long as the normal chapters I've been writing, but if you send in lots of reviews and I get a lot of hits, I may post it REALLY soon ;)

Till next time!

rckmn


	9. Chapter 9: Life in Soul Society

Bleach: After the War into the Future

Chapter Nine: Life in Soul Society

Author's note: I do not own Bleach. Hell, I barely speak Japanese (it's enough to get me around, find an embassy, get some ramen, and a few other things) and I can't draw worth shit… So that obviously means Kubo Tite still owns it.

* * *

And now for an Author's rant (brace yourselves): Hey guys! I am actually quite confident that you will enjoy this chapter (something I'm not quite sure of most of the time…) And I've been reading ALL of your comments (thank you so much, they help me keep writing! And thanks for not writing any condescending reviews. That helps me keep my head up and still writing XD)

I have heard from numerous sources asking for Ichigo to fight the Captain Commander. I have heard your plea, and will try to work it into the existing storyline inside mah brain.. XD

Also on a side note, I planned out the next two arcs of the story, and I must say I am quite pleased with them (It's only 3 pages back and front written out on regular paper…) The chapters are going to start becoming a bit longer since I now have a sense of long term direction for the story instead of just grabbing a random plot bunny in my head and going with it when I sit down to write the chapter (Until now, I didn't know WHERE exactly I wanted to go with the story outside three to four chapters ahead of where the story is now.) However, I now have a extremely good idea of where I want to go and will go, and I'm sure it will be up to your standards :)

I did get a few reviews that commented on the "sappiness" of the last chapter. I can explain the sappiness; this is trying to show Ichigo's and Rukia's progressing relationship (since this is a Ichi/Rukia fanfict and I refuse to not give their relationship enough time to develop and just have them hook up instantly), not trying to be overly sappy. I'm not a fan of sappiness myself, but for the sake of character development and the sake of my sanity, I will do as I must.

There was also a comment about how Zangetsu is being un-Zangetsu-ish. After reading the chapters leading up to where Ichigo uses Mugetsu, Zangetsu actually cries and actually kinda acts somewhat warmly. I've been trying to expand on that idea because now that Ichigo has accepted himself fully (that being the requirement for learning Mugetsu), Zangetsu's and Ichigo's relationship will start becoming more "friendly" if you want to call it that..? On that note, I will try to keep Zangetsu's personality as "normal" as possible with that in mind.

There were questions about the elephant slide in the last chapter. I probably should have gone into a little more detail about that… Anyways, the elephant slide is a slide on a playground for SMALL children that is cylindrical in shape. I included the elephant just for extra humor. The image of Kenpachi stuck in a kiddy slide makes me smile on the inside….

On a different note, has anyone been reading the most current Bleach chapters? If so, do you like the way that Bleach is heading? Do you like the way Ichigo is going about getting his Shinigami powers back? Did you guys see the gigantic signal in chapter 436 that totally points in the Ichigo/Rukia pairing way? If you guys are awesome, you should totally post your opinion as a review, and then read other readers takes. Personally, I am not ashamed to admit I stood up where I was when I saw it for the first time and did multiple fist pumps XD Otherwise, I'm not sure where Tite's going to go with Bleach now. He's got A LOT of explaining to do…

By the way, if you guys haven't been watching the anime, they just got to the point where Ichigo hands Aizen his ass, and his arrival scene made me choke on my own drool from the sheer epicness. The new music from the Hell Chapter OST helped greatly as well XD

As always, please review, subscribe, and most importantly…

Enjoy!

* * *

For the past two and a half years, Karakura Town had been a seemingly quite place. Sure there was still somewhat of a problem with Hollow attacks, but they were generally taken care of very quickly (courtesy of a particular Quincy). But for the most part, their mornings had been quiet.

However, this morning quite unusual for all who had reiatsu high enough to sense spirits. Instead of being woken up like usual, they all heard loud screaming, shouts, and large bursts of reiatsu coming from the direction of the Kurosaki Clinic.

At the residence of Inoue Orihime…..

"Ouch!" Muttered one very disgruntled and sleepy Ishida, as he began to pick himself off the ground from where he'd fallen out of bed.

"Mmmmmm, what time is it, Ishida-kun?" Asked a very groggy Inoue, who'd been woken up when the warm mass that had been keeping her warm during her sleep had disappeared. Ishida grunted in response as he pulled himself back onto the bed and glared at the digital alarm clock next to the bed.

"Hold on, let me find my glasses." Ishida said as he began to grab everything other than his glasses that resided on Inoue's bedside table. Annoyed that he couldn't seem to find them, Ishida grabbed the rectangular digital clock off the table. He squinted and groaned.

"It's 8:45, Inoue-chan." Ishida mumbled.

"Ohh." Inoue responded.

They continued to lie there for a few minutes. As Ishida's brain began to slowly turn on, he began his ritual morning scan for Hollows. There weren't any Hollows around, but there was a huge concentration of reiatsu at the Kurosaki residence. He sensed Captain Hitsugaya's reiatsu (which he was accustomed sensing by now, he came into town around twice a month normally), the repressed reiatsu of Captain Kenpachi, the never-ending ooze of reiatsu that was Kurosaki, Renji's reiatsu, and Kuchiki's reiatsu.

However, the reiatsu of Captain Hitsugaya began to move very quickly, followed closely by Ichigo's reiatsu.

"What on Earth are they doing this early in the morning?" Ishida said angrily as he got back under the covers and put his arm around Inoue.

She sighed with a content smile, and then said, "Let them be, I am far too comfortable to move."

Ishida's anger dissipated with that comment, but then was replaced by curiosity.

'What are they doing anyways?'

* * *

For once in his life, Toshiro was actually genuinely concerned for his well-being. Generally, he was one to be concerned for the sake of others instead of himself.

However, given his situation, he was very concerned.

His situation? Running away as fast as he could from the very angry overprotective brother of the only girl who'd ever caught his attention in a romantic sense.

"COME BACK HERE YOU SON A BITCH SO I CAN KILL YOU!" Screamed Ichigo, as he fired off multiple Getsuga Tenshou's in the general direction of Toshiro. Toshiro managed to dodge them, then turned around and yelled back,

"WHATEVER HAPPENS TO ME, I REGRET NOTHING!" Hitsugaya yelled, which turned out to be a REALLY bad idea.

It only provoked him more.

As the rest of the Shinigami stood on the roof of the Kurosaki Clinic, they all felt different emotions.

Renji was laughing extremely hard because: 1. He'd never seen Ichigo this mad before and 2. The captain with one of the biggest egos in the history of Shinigami was now running away like a scared cat.

Rukia was feeling very angry about Toshiro's peaking (she liked to think that Karin and her had been friends), but not angry enough to the point where she lost her composure and chased after Toshiro herself.

"That idiot better not hurt Captain Hitsugaya too badly…" She murmured to herself.

At least Ichigo hadn't found the peephole that was in his room.

Or his bathroom for that matter. That'd have been awkward.

Kenpachi was lying down on the roof, taking a nap. He still hurt from his fight with Ichigo, and wasn't in a hurry to challenge him again.

Yet anyways…

* * *

The Shinigami stood in Urahara's secret basement to go back to Soul Society. They'd decided to leave from here after Rukia had wanted to talk to Urahara about something in private.

After four hours of chasing, Ichigo gave up his crusade to crush Toshiro.

And settled for glaring at him.

Toshiro, though somewhat unnerved by Ichigo's glare, turned to the group and said, "You guys ready to head back?" Which was followed by a unanimous "Yes!" from the team, who was more than ready to be home.

"Sheesh…" Said Toshiro to himself, as he opened the gate to go to Soul Society. As soon as it opened, he quickly disappeared behind it.

The other four Shinigami quickly followed him.

As Ichigo ran down the halls, memories started to besiege him. His father holding the passageway open, his first meeting and only meeting with Tensa Zangetsu, the fight with Aizen…

'This is the beginning of a new chapter of my life.' Ichigo thought to himself as he looked at Rukia and smiled. Something told him that he was going to enjoy the upcoming days.

Urahara watched as the Shinigami leapt through the gateway to Soul Society, sighed, then went back upstairs. Every time he saw that gate, it brought back bad memories.

As he arrived upstairs, another Shinigami walked in. This Shinigami wore a very familiar scowl, and was leaking an incredible amount of reiatsu from her body.

'Just like her Aniki.' Kisuke thought to himself as he addressed the newcomer with a large smile.

"Hello Kurosaki-san, how may I help you today?"

* * *

Ichigo stood in the Captain's meeting room in Division One. All the captains were present for some reason, and none of them had talked to him. Hell, the silence in the room was startling.

'This is odd.' Ichigo thought to himself, as he quickly shot two glances to either side of him. 'My arrival shouldn't have stirred up so much trouble as to require a full-scale meeting of the brass. There must be more to the situation than I know of.' He concluded.

A few minutes passed by from that point, then the Captain Commander spoke.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you are here before us right now to ask to formally join The 13 Protection Squads, are you not?" Yamamoto asked, his voice devoid of any detectible emotions.

"Yeah I am." Ichigo said bluntly.

"And why would we let you, a former ryoka and human, to be part of The 13 Protection Squads?" The old commander asked angrily.

Ichigo sighed and closed his eyes. This wasn't going as well as he thought it would have gone. The Captain Commander certainly wasn't the most easy going person in the world, by far. He then opened his eyes and looked straight into the now open eyes of one of the most powerful Shinigami in history, and said,

"Because I'm strong. I've fought and defeated 3 of your current Captains, who happen to be standing in this room right now (Toshiro looked away from the Captain Commander while Kenpachi and Byakuya continued to stare at him), several Arrancars of Captain-class ability, and several other strong Shinigami who are of Captain-class ability in certain areas."

Ichigo then took a breath, and then stated in an apathetic voice "I was also the one who weakened Aizen to the point where the Hōgyoku rejected him, allowing Urahara-san to seal him."

There was a long silence that fell after Ichigo had said that.

'That might not have been the greatest idea in the world… That subject still seems a little touchy.' Ichigo thought to himself, somewhat regretting reminding them that he'd succeeded where they'd all fallen.

Soi Fon was the next to speak up.

"The power that Aizen possessed even when he was not fused with the Hōgyoku was enough to take down 9 of the present Captains and every member of the Vizards. And then he defeated 2 former Captains and a powerful acquaintance of theirs, who are even stronger than some of us." She said, sneering at Ichigo. "How do you, a Substitute Shinigami whose had his powers for maybe 7 months, acquire the strength to fight and defeat one of the most power spiritual being known to date?" She spat at him, and gave him a pointed glare.

Ichigo was surprised, and caught a little bit off guard by Soi Fon's ferociousness. He began to speak, but was quickly cut off by Ukitake.

"Soi Fon-san, this meeting is supposed to be about Ichigo-san joining our ranks, not an interrogation of a wanted criminal." Ukitake said sternly.

"Shut up, Ukitake!" Soi Fon shouted angrily. "He is a ryoka! If he is to join us, we need to know all of his secrets! If he wields a technique so powerful that it could take Aizen out with one hit, we need to know how he acquired that technique and how powerful he is! He still wields that power and technique, so we should take it from him and use it to our benefit!" Soi Fon finished angrily.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, you are to wait outside the 1st Division complex until one of us retrieves you." Yamamoto spoke sternly.

Ichigo felt somewhat relieved as he bowed and walked through the door. At least he wouldn't have the president of the Yoruichi fan club jumping down his throat for a little while.

* * *

After he'd closed the door, Byakuya looked directly at Yamamoto.

"Kurosaki is not a threat to us." He stated simply.

Everyone was shocked by Byakuya's statement. It had been well known and quite obvious that Byakuya had hated the boy. For him to defend him now was nothing more than downright surprising.

"And how would you know that, O great Kuchiki?" Soi Fon sneered.

"Mugetsu, or The Final Getsuga Tenshou, is not a technique Kurosaki can actively use." Byakuya replied, looking directly at Soi Fon's face, which now had a look of astonishment written across it. "If he uses it again, he will lose his Shinigami powers permanently." He finished, leaving everyone minus the Captain Commander in shock.

But he wasn't finished with Soi Fon yet.

"It's an embarrassment to The 13 Protection Squads that the Captain of the 2nd Division and the Commander of the Black Ops would display such behavior. If you're unconfident in your skills to the point where you'd attempt to steal another's just for the sheer pleasure of having more power… You don't deserve the position of Captain, let alone be a Shinigami. Yoruichi would be ashamed of you for your foolishness." Byakuya finished.

Soi Fon was completely speechless, and looked down.

The rest of the Captains hid their shock, and looked at the Captain Commander to see what he had to say.

They waited, and they waited, and they waited….

Until finally they realized he'd fallen asleep.

Breaking out of their formation, Kyōraku casually walked down the middle of the assembly to the aged commander, and said in a loud excited voice.

"Hey Yama-ji, the hot springs are finally coed!"

At that instant, the Captain Commander awoke from his slumber, opened his eyes, and smiled broadly.

"It's about time! In all of my 900 years as Captain Commander, I never thought I'd see this day!" He said happily, creeping all those in attendance out.

However, when he saw where he was, the faces of all the Captains, and Shunsui on the ground laughing so hard he was holding his sides, his excitement quickly faded, and turned into disappointment.

And anger.

"Damn you, Shunsui!" Yamamoto yelled as he kicked Kyōraku hard enough to send him flying into the wall on the other side of the room.

And that just made Shunsui laugh all the harder.

* * *

After a few minutes, they sent Toshiro to get Ichigo.

As Ichigo walked into the room, he was extremely puzzled at the change in the atmosphere of the room. When he'd left, he was sure someone was going to die. Now, everyone looked like pretty cheery.

'Well, minus Yama-ji. He looks like someone ran over his cat..' Ichigo thought to himself. He took his position at the center of the room as the Captain Commander started speaking.

"Kurosaki Ichigo, we have talked about accepting you into The Gotei 13, and by unanimous agreement, you are officially part of the Gotei 13." The Captain Commander finished, with a warm smile on his face.

Ichigo's features lit up instantaneously. A large smirk appeared on his face and he chuckled to himself a bit. Now no one could refer to him as being a ryoka.

"You will be placed as co-fukutaicho of the 5th Division for the time being. Do you accept this responsibility?" Yamamoto asked, already knowing the answer.

Ichigo's smirk widened. Even with his powers as high as they were, going straight into being fukutaicho was definitely nothing to scoff at. It'd taken Renji 40 years to get there.

And with any luck, he'd be a captain before no time.

Ichigo then answered.

"Hell yes I accept!"

All the Captains smiled at this statement. Some smiles were more innocent than others, but they all smiled nonetheless.

"Good, your inauguration ceremony will be in a weeks time." Yamamoto declared.

"With that, this meeting is concluded! Now get out of here you whippersnappers so I can go to the hot springs!"

And with that, all the other Captains and Ichigo Shunpo'd out of the First Division complex to go to the hot springs and spread the warning that a perverted old man was on his way to peep.

* * *

_Two weeks later…_

"C'mon guys! I know you've got more than that!" Ichigo yelled at the members of his division, who were currently all on their backs on the ground. Ever since Aizen had left, the 5th division had been in complete shambles, skills and moral wise. Momo had tried her best to keep everything together, but she was still deeply hurt herself from Aizen's betrayal and was in no condition to do anything other than paperwork. And even that was a little much.

So Ichigo had taken it upon himself to take full control of the 5th division himself, and had talked Momo into going on leave to come to terms with everything that had happened to her, and she'd been gone for a week.

The night she left, Ichigo held a meeting with every member of the Division.

One week earlier…

_Ichigo sat on the roof of the 5__th__'s complex and looked over his division standing in the grassy area in the middle of the complex. They all looked at him with hurt in their eyes, and their shoulders were drooped slightly._

_Ichigo frowned at the sight of this, cleared his throat, and said two words, loud and clear._

"_Sosuke Aizen."_

_At those words, Ichigo saw the mixture of emotions that flashed across their faces._

_Sadness, anger, loneliness, betrayal._

'_Huh, they all think that this is another talk about how terrible of a person Aizen really was and how they were idiots to trust him..' Ichigo thought to himself._

"_I am not here to cut you down for all the feelings you had for your former Captain." Ichigo started, noticing the looks of surprise on his division's faces._

"_What happened with your former Captain wasn't any of your faults. The feeling of being betrayed isn't something to be taken lightly." _

"_However, you guys need to move on. Move out of the past."_

_One of the members yelled out "How can we move on? We don't have a Captain, we're weaker than all the other squads, and all the others look down upon as well! We can't do anything about our position!" _

_There was silence for a moment, and then Ichigo began speaking again._

"_While all of those things may be true, I have a solution to your dilemma."_

_Another member spoke up._

"_And what would that be, huh?" _

_Ichigo jumped off the roof and landed on the ground in front of the entire division. He then intensely stared at the division. Some shrank away while others stood strong and returned the gaze. _

"_When Aizen left, you lost more than just your Captain." Ichigo started, with everyone in his audience confused. Had Aizen taken something with him when he left them?_

"_YOU LOST YOUR PRIDE AS SHINIGAMI, AND YOUR PRIDE AS A MEMBER OF THE 5__TH__ DIVISION OF THE 13 PROTECTION SQUADS!" Ichigo yelled at them, making them all jump._

"_Without your pride, you are nothing! If you can't stand up for yourselves, who will?" Ichigo continued, looking at the shocked faces of his division._

"_We as Shinigami stand up for those who can't stand up for themselves! We protect those who can't protect themselves! If you've lost your pride as a Shinigami, then you've lost your pride in protecting innocent people!" Ichigo shouted, making them all flinch._

"_If you say you don't have a Captain, I'll be your Captain! If you say you're not strong, I'll train you until you are the best you can be! And when we've done that, we'll show all the squads who's the best squad there is!" Ichigo took Zangetsu off his back and raised it above his head._

"_Who's strong enough to walk with me into the future? Or is this all the 5__th__ Division is made of?"_

_Ichigo was then met by the chorus of his entire division holding their Zanpakuto's above their heads and yelling in unison._

"_We are! We will walk with you, Kurosaki-taicho!"_

_Ichigo chuckled to himself, then said: "Sounds good to me, just don't let Yama-ji hear you say that." _

End of flashback…

And so Ichigo's training regiment had begun. And even though he was pushing every single person in his division to their limits and past them, he'd seen their increase in pride and in their strength.

Even though Ichigo wasn't normally very good with faces, he'd met with every single member of his division and talked to them about various things, and was finding that he remembered a good number of their names.

Recognition of their improvements or just little things like a 'hello, how are you?' meant a lot more to people than some would think.

As the members of his division began to pick themselves off the ground, Ichigo yelled out to them.

"Okay guys, time to work on your Shunpo skills!"

And there was much groaning.

* * *

Far, far away, in a completely different Fandom…

"Atchoo!"

"What's wrong, Gai-sensi?"

"For some reason, I just had the awful feeling that a large group of people are not enjoying their youthful training exercises."

"How awful indeed! What will we do, Gai-sensi?"

"My adorable Lee, we must do even more youthful training so that our youth will show them the way!"

"Of course, Gai-sensi! Let's start by running 500 times around the village on our hands!"

"YOSHA, LET THE SPRINGTIME OF YOUTH FLOWWWWWWWW!"

* * *

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Remember to review and subscribe! And to post your opinion about the current standing of Bleach! Also, there will be A LOT of Ichi/Rukia action (possibly could be taken as "sappiness." If so, get over yourselves and embrace it). And the Kurosaki-san that Urahara was talking to is KARIN, NOT ICHIGO'S MOM. If my memory serves me correctly, there is a giant poster of his mom SMILING BRIGHTLY somewhere in the Kurosaki residency.

Until next time!

Rckmn


	10. Important Update of Extreme Importance!

Bleach: After the War, Into the Future

* * *

Totally important update that explains why I haven't updated in so long, and future scheduling for updates.

Author's note/humble apology/absence excuse(s): Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't been able to update recently, you would not believe the amount of homework, projects, group competitions, and tests I've had to do in the last month (seriously, I thought I was going to lose my sanity from it… College sucks…), and literally haven't had the time to update. This is just a bulletin to let you guys know I'm still alive (yay!), and I'm going to start on the new chapter right now. It should be out on Saturday night, and will be well worth your wait :) Once again, I'm extremely sorry about the delay.

As for my upcoming schedule, I plan on updating like a beast during Spring Break because writing for me is extremely therapeutic, and Lord knows I need a break (and possibly therapy…) Plus I'm going to the mountains during that time, and while I'm a huge fan of backpacking, it's a family vacation. So I won't be doing anything really fun, and will be doing a great deal of sitting around, aimlessly staring at the clouds…. So the least I can do is make your days of relaxation a little better with loads of updates.

As always, feel free to send me your ideas or constructive criticism. For the record, I can't really do anything or respond to comments like "u make Ichigo look like a pussy." Character development is necessary for a good story, and everyone has his or her moments of weakness.

That includes Shinigami. They have feelings too. Or they did the last time I checked they did...

Anyways, I know a lot of you really hate my very random posting schedule and how long it takes me to update, and for that I apologize. I really wish I had more time to write, but school really take up a lot of my time, and while I'd much rather be writing, I have to do homework, and lots of it. Especially during this semester, my workloads increased tremendously, and I'm finding it harder to find a free 3 hours during my day to sit down and update. If I could, I'd update every day.

However, this is not a perfect world. If it was, there'd be a unit of measurement called Hasselhoff (That'd just be fun to say : This cup of water contains 7.8 kilo Hasselhoffs..) So I can't update as much as I wish. So please bear with me, I promise I will finish this story eventually, and I will update as soon as time permits me to.

With that said, I hope you guys will all check out the new chapter when it comes out Saturday night (I'm pretty excited about it; it's gonna kick some major ass!), read it, and enjoy it!

Later,

Rckmn


	11. Chapter 10: Akiraka ni! Kyaputen shiken

Bleach: After the War, Into the Future

Chapter 10: Akiraka ni! Kyaputen shiken no kaishi!

Author's note: I do not claim to own Bleach in any way. Kubo Tite owns it all.

Author's second note: Well, it's been awhile since I last posted… Sorry about that again… If I could, I'd just write fanfiction and eat lots of ramen.

Anyways, in a completely random direction, have any of you played the new Pokemon game by chance? I got it, and I have mixed feelings about it. I really liked the graphics and the storyline, but it appears that quite a few of the new Pokemon were drawn by a 5 year old with no imagination. I say this because there is a Pokemon now that is based off a bag of garbage, called Trubbish. It's complete rubbish too.

Needless to say, this angered me greatly.

Speaking of anger, I've also been reading and watching a lot of Star Wars stuff recently…

No clue why.

But at this rate, I'll end up writing Star Wars fanfiction too XDD

On a serious note, unless you've been living under a rock for the past week, you've probably heard about the current situation in the northern part of Japan. If not, they had two large earthquakes, one creating a huge tsunami that has slammed into the northern part of Japan. As a result, these natural disasters have made two different nuclear reactors overheat and the Japanese are trying to get them back under control as we speak. They're in a really tight spot right now, and they're probably gonna need a helping hand from other countries. All we can do is do whatever we can to support them in their time of need, and hope they come out of this alright.

That's all I had (for now at least). Make sure you subscribe and review!

Peace,

Rckmn

* * *

Ichigo sighed as he put down his pen and stared at the mountain of paper he'd just finished. It'd been two months since he'd first joined the 5th squad, and he was beginning to get used to living in Soul Society.

No longer living with his sisters was the biggest change for him. Throughout their childhood, he'd always been pretty close to the both of them, and it wasn't until high school had he really not paid them much mind. He had been more focused on things like saving Rukia from execution, fighting Arrancars, and preparing for the final battle against a seemingly invincible opponent.

After he'd lost his powers, he tried to live a "normal" life, but in a household with a Captain Class Shinigami and a little sister who's reiatsu was skyrocketing higher by the day, it wasn't easy. Isshin would disappear every once and awhile, assumedly to fight hollows who were too close to the house or talk to Urahara, while Karin would just start seemingly talking to herself (when in actuality she was talking to Pluses he couldn't see) reminded too much of happier days, so he'd disappear to his room, or just leave the house.

'I ought to try calling Dad tonight so I can talk to Yuzu and Karin again.' Ichigo thought as he pulled the spirit phone out of a hidden compartment in his desk and looked at the display. He then put the phone back in the compartment, and headed outside.

During the last two months, the 5th Division had made massive improvements. Each member was now competent in shunpo, swordplay, and kido.

Ichigo groaned. The first kido lesson had been nothing short of a complete disaster.

* * *

_Flashback to a month before:_

_Ichigo and Momo had been forced to take the 5__th__ Division to an uninhabited mountainous region of Soul Society to see where their kido skills were. People who's skill in kido was questionable or lacking were no longer allowed to perform kido in the practice fields (thanks to a certain pineapple-headed Fukutaicho destroying a portion of the 6__th__ Division barracks). _

_Ichigo shifted, somewhat uncomfortable with the topic at hand. Other than Ceros, he had absolutely no experience with using kido. _

_He'd also told Momo this._

_Which turned out to be a very bad idea._

_Momo looked on the members of the 5__th__ division with a very cross look. She had no idea that they were this bad off. _

_And Kido was what she excelled in for crying out loud! She was one of the best Kido users in the 13 Protection Squads._

"_Alright everyone, stop your spells!" Momo shouted, looking very frustrated. The squad members quickly stopped what they were doing and looked at her, somewhat scared._

"_How can you be having so many problems with such an easy, low level Kido spell?" Momo yelled._

_The squad members shifted uncomfortably where they stood, obviously embarrassed by their failure._

'_They've come so far, why can't they get what I teach them, but completely master everything Ichigo does?' Momo thought angrily to herself. _

_But that's when an incredible idea popped into her head._

"Ichigo, would you mind helping me with something?" Momo asked innocently. Ichigo was slightly taken back at first, but quickly recovered.

"_Sure Momo, what's up?" Ichigo asked, still somewhat puzzled._

"_Just come here and follow my lead." She said with a smile on her face as she grabbed Ichigo's wrist and pulled him to the center of the area where they were practicing. _

"_Oi! Everyone listen up!" Momo yelled to the group. All eyes were now on them, and Ichigo still didn't know what was going on with his life._

"_Momo, what am I doing?" Ichigo asked quickly, trying to make it look discrete. _

_However, Ichigo's question fell on deaf ears._

"_I'm going to walk through the steps of the spell again, but this time Kurosaki-fukutaicho will do it after I'm done going through the steps again!" Momo yelled, and all the Squad members cheered. Momo smirked at this reaction_

"_Ichigo was an inspiration to all of them, so seeing him do it would increase the vigor of their attempts." She thought to herself, very proud of her clever plan._

_Ichigo was not too happy with this plan at all. He had no clue as what to do, and listen very carefully to Momo's instructions this time._

_When Momo was done explaining the rules again, she turned to Ichigo, still smiling._

"Good luck!" she said to him, and walked a safe distance away from Ichigo, just in case something were to go wrong.

_Ichigo took a nervous breath, and then began the incantation._

"_"Kunrinsha yo! Chiniku no kamen, banshō, habataki, hito no na o kansu mono yo! Shōnetsu to sōran, umihedate sakamaki minami e to ho o susume yo!"_

_(Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south!")_

"_Hadō #__31. Shakkahō!" Ichigo yelled, concentrated reishi in the center of his hand, closed his eyes, and held it over his head._

_What happened next would live in the memories of the 5th Division forever._

_What Ichigo did when he performed his spell was very similar to what Renji had done to demolish most of the 6th Division; overload a simple spell with a staggering amount of reishi._

_However, Ichigo put in A LOT more than Renji had._

_The scale of Ichigo's mistake gave a whole new definition to the phrase "overkill"._

_Instead of a medium sized red ball forming at the center of his palm, a giant red sphere measuring at least 40 meters in diameter formed above Ichigo. The amount of reiatsu the ball gave off forced 3/4th of the Division to their knees. _

_Ichigo opened his eyes and looked up at his spell, and began to freak out._

_"Momo! What do I do with this now?" Ichigo yelled, as he watched with horror as the sphere continued to grow._

_"Get rid of it! Shoot it before it gets any bigger!" Momo yelled, beginning to be scared for her life if Ichigo were to loose control of his giant red ball o doom. _

_Ichigo quickly looked around for a safe place to ditch the spell, and quickly spied a large mountain range. He then moved his palm so that is was facing the mountain range._

_The giant sphere took off, hurling towards the mountain range at an incredible speed. All watched with awe as the giant ball collided with the mountain range._

_What happened next could only be compared to a sunrise._

_The entire horizon glowed blood red._

_Then the ground began to shake._

_Then the wind picked up._

_Picked up 45 members of the 5th Division, that is._

_When the tremors had stopped, the winds had died, the blown away squad members recovered, and the horizon turned back to blue, everyone minus Ichigo jaws became unhinged._

_The mountain range was completely gone, and in it's place was a huge crater._

_Momo turned to Ichigo, shock still evident on her face. Ichigo looked at her with an apologetic look, and said-_

_"That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?"_

_End of flashback_

* * *

Since then, Ichigo now was taking remedial reiatsu control classes with Renji on Thursday nights to prevent any other catastrophes happening to the Gotei 13. After two classes, he was doing extremely well. He could now control the bulk of his reiatsu (which he'd had Zangetsu reign in even more of his full reiatsu after what'd happened; now it was at the level he'd had before he'd fought Aizen), and he enjoyed flaunting his successes in front of Renji, who seemed to have a knack for either blowing himself up or the building they were in.

However, right now Ichigo had something on his mind that he'd been looking forward to do for awhile now, but hadn't had the time.

He was going to go catch up with Rukia.

* * *

Rukia lay panting heavily on the ground of a very familiar secret training ground. Today's training had really pushed her passed her limits.

Despite her extremely fatigue, Rukia grinned to herself. 'Only a little bit longer till I can achieve Bankai.' She thought proudly. 'Not even Ni-sama knows that I've been training to achieve it, and no one will expect it when I use it.' She thought snidely to herself, as she pulled her Zanpakuto out of the ground beside her and sheathed it. She was tempted to give it one last try, but decided against it in favor of a long soak in the hot springs conveniently placed inside the training ground, and then to go bother Ichigo.

She liked that idea a lot.

What Rukia was unaware of, however, was that her secret training area was not so much of a secret. Four people knew of it's existence, and one of them was on his way there right now.

* * *

Ichigo was surprised when he sensed Rukia's reiatsu in the training area where he'd trained for Bankai for those fateful days before her execution.

'Well, I guess it wouldn't be a problem if I popped in on her and watched her train a little bit.' Ichigo reasoned with himself as he shunpo'd in the direction of the training ground.

Rukia left her Shihakusho laying on a rock near the hot springs, and hopped in. The water felt amazing.

"Ahhhhhhhhh…" Rukia moaned as she felt the hot water begin to work magic on her aching body, no longer caring about her surroundings.

Ichigo arrived in the huge cavern and looked around. He was too close to Rukia to distinguish the precise location of her reiatsu, so he began to look around for her.

"Rukia!" He yelled out as he shunpo'd onto a high ledge.

* * *

Not so far away, Rukia sat fast asleep in the hot spring, completely unaware that Ichigo was there, while she was completely nude, and looking for her.

* * *

Ichigo continued his search for Rukia, yelling for her every couple minutes. While he was running, he failed to notice a small black Shihakusho laying on a rock near the hot springs until it was too late, and he slipped on it.

Because Ichigo was going quite fast when he slipped on Rukia's Shihakusho, he managed to fly all the way into the hot springs, directly across where Rukia now was awake.

"Mhmmmmmm.. Who is it…?" She muttered as she opened her eyes and stood up to find out what woke her up.

What she was not expecting was to see a shirtless Ichigo floating in the middle of the springs.

Out of all the place Ichigo had fallen, this had definitely been the best, and least painful by far. He'd been a little stressed out recently, but the hot springs were already working it's magic on him as he floated up.

"Ahhhhhhhhh…. This is nice… Maybe I can invite Rukia here when I see her." Ichigo blabbered out; his internal filter had been removed when he'd fallen into the springs. He slipped out of the top part of his Shihakusho and floated up to the top. He was in the middle of taking a breath when he noticed something funny.

He got the feeling he was being stared at. He rolled his head back to look at whomever was staring at him.

What he saw was a topless Rukia staring at him like he was a piece of meat and she was a wolf.

'Wait, topless Rukia?"

* * *

Kurosaki Karin stood motionless as the hollow she'd just been fighting disincarnated into nothingness. It'd been a full year since she'd received her powers, and she was getting stronger.

Much stronger.

Thanks to Urahara and Yoruichi, her strength was increasing in leaps and bounds. Before long, she could go to Soul Society and be with Ichigo.

Because he was the only person who could possibly help her with "The Problem."

She heard an evil giggle as she morphed back into her body, and started on her way home.

'Time's running out.' Karin thought to herself, as she pushed herself to walk.

'Please be able to help me, Ichi-ni!'

* * *

Haha! Two different cliffhangers in the same chapter? Unheard of, until now that is XD Hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you're slightly confused about the ending, that's okay, you're supposed to be. If you're no, kudos to you, don't spoil it for anyone :P

Until next time!

Rckmn


	12. Chapter 11: Heartbreak and Sorrow

Bleach: After the War, Into the Future

Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach, because if I did, Ichigo and Rukia'd be together already, and he'd have his Shinigami powers back, not this stupid "Fullbringer" shit...

Author's note: It's come to my attention that my author's rambles have been too long and have left some of you feeling "cheated" from the recent chapters I've posted. I didn't realize I was doing this until I looked at the chapters, and I apologize. To the anonymous person who pointed this out, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I do happen to take pride in my work, and I'm glad that you like what I've been doing with the characters.

Anyways, on with the story!

* * *

_A loud, feminine scream could be heard, coming from a large hole in the ground, where several people stood, looking down into the hole with different expressions on their faces._

_A boy with short, fiery red hair looked into the hole with a fearful look._

_A man with a green and white pinstriped hat looked down with a small smile._

_A girl with black hair put up into two pigtails had no emotions whatsoever on her face, looking at the object in the hole, trying to decide if the thing in the hole could threaten the safety of The Owner._

_A strong masculine voice rang out from within the hole "Owner! It's just like last time! Should I wait before taking action?"_

_The man in the pinstriped hat responded "Just leave her be for a little bit longer, if she's anything like her brother, this is bound to be interesting." He concluded, the small smile never leaving his face._

_The thing they were referring to stood up, the body looked human, but the face was covered up by a white mask that looked like the face of a tiger's skull._

_The figure screamed out in a distorted voice. Its body was suddenly encompassed by a bright yellow reishi, and then shot out of the shaft._

"AHHHHHHH!" Screamed out Kurosaki Karin, as she shot into a sitting position in her bed, breathing hard and sweating profusely.

She stared down at her shaking hands, her mind still reeling from the vividness of the dream.

'Why do I keep seeing that scene?' She thought to herself. This wasn't the first time she'd had this dream, but it'd been reoccurring quite in the last couple days.

**_"Why wouldn't I not want to torture you with the memory of my birth?"_** Asked a distorted evil voice inside her head.

Karin eyes widened with surprise before shaking her head and putting a hand on her brow.

'I'm out of time… This is completely out of my control…" Karin admitted to herself. "If I wait any longer, I run the risk of this monster getting loose and killing everyone…" She finished, hating the fear that had welled up inside her.

She stood up and quietly walked over to her window. After Ichigo had left, she'd moved into his room so that Yuzu could have her own room.

'Well, I guess this is it…" She thought to herself as she opened the window and slipped out into the night.

Most people would have problems with landing a 17-foot jump straight down. However, most people hadn't trained their bodies to the extent that Shinigami do.

Karin gracefully landed on the sidewalk underneath her window, and began to run away, all while clutching her right fist.

She'd never separated her soul by herself; all the times she'd become a Shinigami it'd either been Urahara or her father hitting her with something that had a skull on it.

However, as the years had gone by, they'd forgotten about one of the major components of Karin's plan.

In fact, this whole trip wouldn't have even been possible had they not forgotten about the small, lime green pill that now rested in her palm. She'd seen Ichigo use it when she first discovered he was a Shinigami, and had a fairly good idea what would happen if she were to swallow it.

Eventually, she got her final destination. She stood in front of a very familiar tombstone and began to talk.

"Hey Mom. I thought I'd just drop by to say good-bye before I leave." Karin started off. She took a deep breath, and continued speaking.

"I've gotten myself into a big mess…"

After she'd finished talking, she walked away from the gravestone and into a large field near the cemetery. She opened her palm, and looked at the small pill that lay there.

This was her ticket to Ichigo.

'Damn… I wish Kon wasn't such a perv… Oh well, beggars can't be choosers.' Karin mused before she popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed.

Before she knew it, she'd been ejected from her body, and was looking at her human self, whose eyes were closed.

All of a sudden, the eyes shot open, and a smile that Karin didn't think that her face was possible of.

"Yes! I'm finally free again!" Screamed Kon as he began to jump around in celebration.

Which was quickly stopped, via Karin's foot.

"Ugghh… You never change, Ichigo." Kon said, a smile still on Karin's face. "You were so cold to me all these years, you're lucky I'm such a nice gu…." Kon stopped talking as he began to comprehend what kind of body he was in.

"Wait, this isn't Ichigo's body…." Kon muttered out loud, and looked up at Karin. "Well, this certainly is a surprise. You've filled in quite nicely over the last couple of... MMPHH!"

Karin had shove Kon's face into the ground to prevent him from finishing his sentence. She then removed her foot off of Kon's face and rolled him over so that she could look him right in the eyes.

"Listen up, I don't have much time to explain. I need you to be in my body and go to school for me. If you do anything screwy while I'm away, I still happen to know where a certain plush tiger doll is and have no reservations about putting you back in it…"

Kon's face grew fearful. " PLEASE DON'T! I PROMISE TO BE A GOOD BOY!.. OR GIRL!" He wailed.

Karin smirked at him. "Good, now go home and live my life for me for awhile. I'm going to see Ichi-ni in Soul Society." She finished and began walking off, with a small smile on her face.

'Here I come, Ichi-ni!"

'Damn Rukia, why didn't you tell me you were go train today? I could've helped you out…" Thought an aggravated Renji.

The fact that he could sense Ichigo was with Rukia pissed him off even further. That meant that she'd asked him to help her train. He felt somewhat hurt; in the time after her near execution, they'd trained together time and time again, and he thought he'd been doing pretty well to crack her icy wall that she'd shrouded around herself.

However, now that Ichigo was here, all that hard work could go right down the drain.

As Renji entered the training ground, he was shocked at the damage to the cave. There were huge slashes in the walls, and certain rocks were completely iced over.

'Damn… She really went at it today…" Mused Renji, somewhat taken aback at the sheer damage that had been inflicted. However, that was not going to stop and dropping in on his secret love and best friend/rival for Rukia.

However, he was shaken from his thoughts when he almost slipped on a rock that overlooked the hot springs and happened to look down at the two people sitting in it.

Rukia was sitting in Ichigo's lap, inclined slightly, with her head resting gently resting between Ichigo's neck and shoulder, while Ichigo's arms were draped around her, with his head resting on top of hers.

What killed Renji the most was not their intimate position.

'She looks so happy…' Renji thought sadly. 'I've never seen her so happy in all the years I've know her…'

Unbidden tears began to flow down Renji's face. He'd the term "heartbreak" before, but had only written off as some silly term girls use when they got dumped. However, the pain he was feeling in his chest was real. It felt like someone had stabbed him with their Zanpakuto and twisted it.

Renji quickly turned his back on his two closest companions and fled.

'Why him? Why him? WHY HIM?'

Renji flew out of the mouth of the cave, no longer crying, but determined to figure out why she'd picked Ichigo over him.

'We're both idiots, we're both crazy about her, so where's the difference?' Renji demanded.

_'**It's because he's more powerful than you are'**_

Renji's eyes widen.

"That's right… Even though I hate to admit it, Ichigo is definitely one of the strongest Shinigami in existence, if not number one. Who wouldn't be attracted to someone who's strength is that magnitude?' Renji reasoned with himself. 'But where do I acquire that kind of power?'

_'**I can help you with that little issue of yours. I happen to be able to give you all the power you could ever wish for, and it would certainly be enough to crush Kurosaki Ichigo.''**_

'Ohh, you can?' Asked Renji, somewhat sarcastically. 'And who the hell are you, speaking to me in my mind? Zabimaru is the only one who should be able to do that.' Renji stated, quite suspicious of this new voice.

_'**Come to Muken, and everything will be answered.'**_

After that, the strange presences vanished from Renji's consciousness, and Renji looked up at the prison.

"Might as well go and see with this is all about." Renji mused to himself, eager to get the power necessary to destroy Ichigo.

He had no idea of the consequences that that decision would make.

* * *

So, if I can get over 100 reviews on the story before the next chapter, I will write an additional omake part of next chapter explain HOW Rukia ended up in Ichigo's lap in the hot springs ;)

The next chapter will introduce a major event in Soul Society that this arc revolves around; The Captaincy Exams!

Hope you enjoyed it! Remember to review and subscribe!

Rckmn


	13. Chapter 12: Love and Captaincy Exams!

Bleach: After the War, Into the Future

Chapter 12: Unveiled at Last! Captaincy exams begin!

Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach. If I did, Ichigo and Rukia would be canon by now.

Author's note: Wow, gotta lot of hits with the last update, so I figured I'd update again ^_^. For all of you who reviewed, thank you! It spurs me to write more.

So, on with the chapter…

* * *

Rukia couldn't believe her eyes. The last time they'd been open, she had been completely alone in her secret training grounds, recovering from her intensive training session for Bankai. Now, floating right before her was Ichigo, who's face was completely red.

'What is he doi… HE'S SHIRTLESS!" Rukia thought as a large blush appeared on her face and a small drip of blood threatened to leak out of her nose.

To her, Ichigo's body was perfect. He was cut in every way possible, but not overly muscularly to the point where it was unwieldy. His long shaggy hair laid perfectly on his face, long enough to give a sense of ruggedness, but not crazy long like Renji's or her brother's.

And then Rukia remembered she was naked.

"Ahhhh!" Rukia cried as she quickly slid further under the water, trying to hide her body under the water.

Ichigo's blush didn't fade, but he seemed to regain control of his mouth again.

'Gottta get the conversation going before this gets really awkward…' Ichigo thought to himself as he mustered the courage to start a conversation with the girl he had dreamed about almost every day while he'd been powerless.

"Not that I have anything against it, but why are you training in a secret training ground only known about by 4 people at tops?" Ichigo asked, hoping that she'd take the bait and yell at him. That'd be a good sign that things hadn't gone down the drain completely.

Rukia raised one of her eyebrows and said: "That's none of your business, baka… More importantly, how'd you find me here? When have you been here?" She asked, somewhat put off that her secret training ground had been discovered. She didn't mind that Ichigo knew about it, but she couldn't let Ichigo know that.

Ichigo chuckled lightly as a smirk came onto his face.

"This is where I hid out for the few days up to your execution. This is also where I trained so I could achieve Bankai." Ichigo said. "It'd be ironic if you were training for Bankai here, and I was on slate for execution." He laughed, and Rukia's eyes opened slightly.

"Ahhh, that'd explain it." She mused.

Ichigo frowned. Obviously something was wrong with her.

"You're training for Bankai here and having problems with it, aren't you?" Ichigo probed.

Rukia's eyes widen again, then fell.

"I've been trying to achieve Bankai since the day you lost your Shinigami powers. At first, it was going really well, but then about 6 months in, I started having problems with Sode no Shirayuki." Rukia admitted, looking at Ichigo with tired eyes.

"What kind of problems?" Ichigo asked. 'Maybe I can help her with it, if she'll accept my help.'

Rukia looked down at the water, and then said: "She says it's because my heart is conflicted."

Now it was Ichigo's turn to be surprised. He'd run into the exact same problem when he'd been trying to achieve Bankai for the first time.

"Well, what is your heart conflicted about?"

Images of her sword sticking through Kaien and the look that her and Ichigo had shared when he came to rescue her from her brother for the first time in Soul Society flashed in her mind before she said: "I don't know."

Ichigo frowned. Strangely, he could've sworn he could feel her conflicted feelings inside himself.

He then sighed. He had been hoping to go about what he was about to say differently, but apparently that wasn't going to happen.

"When I was working at achieving Bankai, I had the exact same problem come up." Ichigo started. Rukia's head shot up, surprise clearly evident on her face.

"Really?" She said, letting her curiosity get the best of her. "What were you conflicted about?"

Ichigo swam over so that he was sitting next to Rukia, not caring anymore that they were both almost completely naked, and closed his eyes.

She was in for a long story.

"For starters, I was still conflicted about the death of my mother. I was still angry that I hadn't been able to kill Grand Fisher when we fought." Ichigo started, with Rukia nodding her head in an understanding fashion.

After all, she'd been there when it happened.

"But that wasn't what I was feeling the most conflicted about."

Rukia was shocked. 'What possibly could have made him more conflicted than not being able to get revenge for his mother's death?'

Ichigo opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling of the cave. He then said something Rukia couldn't have guessed coming in a million years.

"My feelings for you."

Rukia's mouth fell open. This couldn't be Ichigo. The Ichigo she knew would've never admitted something like that.

Ichigo noticed her face, and continued.

"After my mother died, I cut myself from everyone. I couldn't protect the one I loved the most." Ichigo said, then he paused.

"So when I came here to get you, who was to say it'd be any different than back then?"

Rukia's mind was spinning. She was just beginning to grasp the implications of the words he was using, and they were nothing short of shocking.

"The reason I could never admit to myself that I loved you was because if anything were to happen, I didn't know if I could protect you if I needed to."

"But then I realized that I no longer was powerless, and I could obtain the power to be able to protect the one I love, by achieving Bankai." Ichigo turned his head so that he could look Rukia right in the eyes, with a warm look on his face, which turned into a cheeky grin.

"And that's how I achieved Bankai." He finished, now having a small frown on his face. Rukia had lowered her head, bangs covering her eyes.

"I understand if you don't feel the same way about me as I do yo…"

Before he could finish his sentence, Rukia jumped on top of Ichigo and kissed him passionately.

Ichigo's face turned a shade of red that could only be described as a ripe strawberry. He then closed his eyes, and put his arms around her, which she did in return.

Several minutes later, they separated.

Rukia looked up at Ichigo, with a large smile on her face.

"I don't think you have to worry about that."

* * *

Several days later…

"So does anyone know why we're here right now?" Asked Ichigo to the other fukutaichos as they stood around in the 1st Division's meeting hall.

"No clue…" Answered Renji, his voice dripping in venom.

Ichigo was somewhat taken aback at the ferocity in Renji's voice, but decided to let it slide.

At that moment, all of the Captains walked into the room and stood in a line facing them at the front of the room. All the fukutaichos stood at attention as the Captain Commander stepped forward.

"Beginning today, we will begin the Captaincy exams!" Yelled the Captain Commander.

"Each one of you will be given a series of tests to determine if you are eligible to fill one of the three vacant Captain positions. You will have a 6-month training period starting today, and you will report back here to formally begin the exams on June 10th! Are there any questions?"

Not one of the fukutaichos raised their hand.

The Captain Commander stroked his beard, then said: "Good! Now get the hell out of here!"

Instantly, every fukutaicho shunpo'd out of the room to begin their training regiments.

The Captain Commander chuckled to himself as he turned towards the door.

"Where are you going, Yama-ji?" Shunsui called out.

"I'm going to peak on pretty girls at the hot springs! Anyone want to join me?" The old man yelled elatedly, a large trickle of blood coming out of his nose.

All the Captains minus Shunsui then proceeded to puke in their mouths, all thinking the same thing.

"ERO-JIJI!"

* * *

As they jumped across various rooftops, Ichigo grabbed Rukia and began to carry her bridal style.

Which did not sit well with Rukia.

"Baka! Put me down! I can run on my own!" Rukia yelled at him, though she was enjoying being that close to him.

"Shut up! Anyways, since we've got 6 months to train, I think a change of location is in order." Ichigo said, feigning anger.

"Oh? What are you thinking of?" Rukia asked with a smile on her face.

"I think we need to go on vacation for a little and see some old friends." Ichigo finished, giving her a warm look.

"Sounds good to me!" Rukia grinned as she gave Ichigo a peck on the cheek.

Wrapped up in their love, both Shinigami failed to realize they were being tailed.

Or the pink Sakura flowers that were quickly gaining on them…

"KUROSAKI! PUT DOWN MY SISTER RIGHT THIS INSTANT!"

"NEVER! YOU DON'T SCARE ME, BYAKUYA!"

"NII-SAMA, PLEASE STOP! THIS IS TWO SIDED!"

"ICHIGO! STOP BAITING HIM, YOU BAKA!"

"OWWW! WHY ARE YOU HITTING ME AND NOT HIM?"

"BANKAI!"

"OHHHH SHIT, RUN FASTER ICHIGO!"

* * *

Kuchiki Byakuya looked at the closing Senkaimon with a small smile on his face. He'd never let it show, but he was quite fond of the orange haired boy. With him around, Rukia was much happier, and if his pride was happy, so was he.

But that doesn't mean that he could just let him go like that.

Oh no, he had to inspire some fear into the boy to make sure he wouldn't make any screw-ups.

For the first time in years, he chuckled. These years to come would be most fun indeed.

* * *

Abarai Renji walked down a pitch-black tunnel, and stopped in front of a cell with a man with brown hair and closed eyes. He had reiatsu suppressers on almost every inch of his body, was shackled to the wall, and had multiple blades made out of reishi sticking into him. Blood was dripping from the body, and had completely stained the walls around him red.

"What do you want from me, Aizen?"

* * *

And that's it! Hope you enjoyed it!

Till next time!

Rckmn


	14. Not a chapter, but good news!

Bleach: After the War, Into the Future

I'm not dead!

Hey everyone, rckmn here!

Wow, it's been a really long time since I wrote anything…. And for that, I am very sorry.

I blame college (which as I've found out, is the equivalent of living under a rather heavy rock). Seriously, it steals your soul AND all of your money.

Though, in the process, I have acquired an addiction to ramen and to Harry/Hermione fanfiction…. The first one I saw coming, the second I'm still trying to figure out how it came about, not that I'm complaining it did…

Anyways, since next week I'm graduating from the evil oppressive organization known as college in one week (just exams that I should be studying for now left to get my AA), I now realize I have to celebrate this joyous moment with something momentous that will last all summer, before I go to university.

So could possibly better than me huddling over a computer writing this story and playing Legend of Zelda for down time?

Don't know about you guys, but it sounds legit to me. So brace yourselves, those who still care about this fic, if you still exist. Updates should start popping up again in about two weeks.

Yours truly,

A very sorry rckmn


	15. Abandoned

Hello ,

To be frank, I never expected this story to get off the ground (hell, I cringe when I read my own story now), and I appreciate all of your support and reviews. However, due to the fact that the writing of this story borderlines on terrible and I really don't have a clear picture of where I want the story to go, this fic is officially abandoned. I'm planning on writing in the future, but probably not in the Bleach fandom.

Sorry everyone, and thanks once again.

rckmn


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